Mergers
by Katrina S. Forest
Summary: When mergers were invented, they exploded in popularity. After all, who wouldn't want to have a smidgen of Pokémon DNA in their veins? To use their powers? To talk to them? But the process is delicate. More than 50% Pokémon DNA, and you're no longer human. You're a wild Pokémon, and any trainer can capture you and claim you as their own.
1. Strong As Iron

_a/n: Co-written with RaptorRowan. Cover image by_ _onichan-xd._

 _#_

"Step this way, sir," the grunt behind Brock said, ushering him into the room. "And have you decided which merger you would like today?"

Brock held in a laugh. Holding him at gunpoint, forcing him into this lab of theirs, and now Team Rocket had the gall to ask which Pokémon's DNA he'd like fused with his own against his will? There was a certain humor to the situation.

"Do I have a choice?" he asked.

"Of course, sir," the grunt said with a bow. Brock looked around the room. Two figures in white coats with face masks stood waiting by a tray of needles and syringes. He didn't see any Pokéballs, but they had to be around somewhere.

"I don't mean to rush you," the grunt said, "But... your selection, please?"

Brock focused on the one small window in the room, iron bars ensuring that no one was getting out that way. No human, at any rate. But he wouldn't be fully human for much longer. If they were going to force this transformation on him, he needed a Pokémon with strength on his side, something that would give him the ability to overpower these creeps and finally get him out of here. Something tough as iron. Or... tough as steel.

"I choose... Steelix," he finally said.

The grunt looked relieved. "Ah, excellent choice. Lay down, please, if you would."

Brock took a seat on the bed and leaned back. He hadn't missed the heavy-duty straps hanging off the sides when he entered, and they certainly did not take him by surprise as the grunts fastened them across his legs, arms, and chest.

 _I'm getting out of here,_ he promised himself. _I'll escape and get Misty and Ash out of here, too. Even we're not entirely human afterwards..._

One of the figures stepped forward and slipped a needle into his skin. It felt like liquid ice being forced into his veins. Cold as iron.

He didn't understand the process completely, but he knew all the mergers started with this - some kind of a serum that left his body vulnerable to a quick shift in DNA. In essence, Giovanni had developed the technology to allow humans to evolve like Pokémon. Or rather, evolve _into_ Pokémon. All it took once the the serum was in his body was exposure to the proper stone...

Brock couldn't see what the other figure was doing, but could hear her picking up something that scraped against her tray of instruments. Almost time. Team Rocket had really overestimated their abilities on this one. Onix were notoriously hard to capture, Steelix even worse. If they tried to toss even an Ultra Ball at him after the transformation, he felt sure he could resist it.

The smooth edge of the stone pressed into his neck. Brock breathed deeply. He felt his body tremble with energy; the muscles in his legs became petrified first, then the sensation spread to his chest and arms. He expected it to stop there. This was a merger, after all, not a complete metamorphosis. But the sensation didn't stop. Brock felt the heat leave his hands, fingers, and neck as flesh and blood morphed to iron and rock. Panic gripped his mind. How much of the serum had they given him? He thrashed against the restraints, and despite his largely inorganic body, he felt the straps start to give way under his newfound strength.

He managed to crane his neck enough to confirm what he already feared: his legs had joined to form the thrashing tail of the iron snake Pokémon. Team Rocket members leapt away to avoid being stabbed by the tail's rocky barbs. Then, at last, Brock's restraints snapped. The scientist holding the Steelixite dropped it in shock as Brock swung his massive tail and slammed the man against the nearest wall. The Rocket grunt who'd led him here stupidly tried to grab his arm; Brock threw him off easily. Too easily. He looked down at his hands; they looked like hands from a roughly cut statue. What percent of him was still human now? Thirty percent? Twenty? Brock turned on the one scientist still standing, who clutched a clipboard in terror. He opened his mouth to scream at her, to ask her how she could have done this. But when he tried to produce words, only a low growl erupted from his throat.

He understood what he had meant. Any Pokémon would have understood him quite clearly. But on her human ears, his words were lost. Brock held his head in his cold, iron hands. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. They weren't supposed to let the merger go this far. As he tried to regain himself, to stick to his plan of escape, Brock saw a flash of red light and felt something pulling him back.

He turned to see that the Pokéball that had just been thrown at him was not black and yellow as he had expected, but purple. _They have Master Balls,_ he realized. He almost laughed at how stupid he'd been. There was no possible escape from this. There never had been.

Brock lowered his head and let the red light pull him in. The thought of becoming one of Giovanni's Pokémon sickened him. But maybe, with some time and patience, he'd still find a way to save his friends.

For now, that was the best he could hope for.

#

 _Six weeks earlier..._

Giovanni was first alerted to the surveillance footage by Pierce, who had taken up the task of clearing some storage space on the old hard drives. The elite officer had found a huge amount of data that he had no clue with. Giovanni had been annoyed at first, ready to scold Pierce for being unable to deal with such a basic problem... until he saw the data.

The bulk of it was surveillance footage. It began years ago, with a boy who looked to be about ten years old at the time, probably leaving home for his Pokémon journey. He had a Pikachu with him, a most unusual choice for a starter. In fact, a bulk of the footage seemed to center on the Pikachu. Whoever had taken this footage had logged hundreds on hours on the little electric rodent.

Giovanni noted the names of the members who had logged all this nonsense and how long it had gone on for. Jessie and James. And their last known log was dated... a few days ago?

Giovanni blinked in disbelief. His two subordinates, bless their poor moronic souls, had been stalking this boy and his Pokémon for the past _five_ years.

"Who is this kid?" Giovanni muttered is disbelief. "And why do we have..." He looked down at the computer screen. "...over four _hundred_ hours of footage of him?"

The young man did look familiar, Giovanni would admit as much. He must have meddled in Team Rocket's affairs at some point.

"Ah, yes, I'm... erm, I'm looking that up right now, sir," Pierce replied. Giovanni raised an eyebrow. It was most unlike his subordinate to call him for a question prior exhausting all possibly research on said question.

Thankfully, Pierce was not too far off the mark. With a few strokes of the keyboard, he pulled up the kid's (well, the teenager's) Pokémon trainer ID.

"His name is Ash Ketchum," Pierce said. "Son of Delia Ketchum and.."

Giovanni frowned. "Delia Ketchum? That's impossible." He rubbed his head. Old memories were coming back. Some very, very old memories.

Giovanni's Persian seemed to sense his stress and and rubbed its head against his leg. "Get Jessie and James on the phone," Giovanni growled. "I have a job for the three of you."

"Of course, sir," Pierce replied, standing as he shut off the monitor. He didn't reach for his phone right away, however, and he stared into the distance in a most unprofessional manner.

Giovanni gave him a cautious look. "You seem... distracted, officer," he said. "I trust all is well?"

Pierce quickly regained himself and nodded. "Everything is fine, sir. Apologies. I'll place that call right away."


	2. Agent Fiora

_a/n: Thanks everyone for reading so far and for leaving feedback - we've working on making this and future chapters a bit longer. We've also got enough written that we should be able to stick to an every-other-week schedule for a while. If you want a sneak peek at chapter 3, the first draft is currently on our blog. (See profile for the link.) Hope you enjoy! -Rowan & Katrina_

 _#_

When Agent Fiora entered Team Rocket's Pokémon housing facility, she found a flurry of assistants hard at work - mostly cleaning cages and mixing food. She gripped Absol's harness and walked forward, her weak muscles quivering in protest. At least Pierce understood her, even if no other Rockets did. _He_ knew better than to argue that she get a wheelchair. He had simply brought out Absol one day, pulled the walking harness onto its shoulders, and set its Pokéball in her hand.

"A loan," he had called it. "For when you need help." He had respected her enough not to make the trade official. True, she would have loved a Pokémon of her own. But this way was better. Pokémon had feelings too, and she refused to bring a Pokémon into her life knowing it would only be left mourning for her in a few years' time.

"Just another day at work, eh?" she asked.

"Ab-sol," said Absol. They passed the break room, Fiora taking careful steps with Absol pacing diligently at her side, ready at a moment's notice to lean in to steady her whenever she needed.

At least five assistants stopped to offer the usual "morning, ma'am!" and "can I help you, ma'am!" and "Lovely weather we're having today, isn't it, ma'am!" Sad, she didn't even know half their names. She had tried, of course. When she first started out as head caretaker... two and a half years ago? Yes, that sounded right. Back when her group of assigned underlings was small. But her arsenal of minions seemed to be growing exponentially lately, and Fiora was working less and less.

She and Absol made the usual rounds. First checking the group play room to greet her Pokémon friends, make sure they were happy and getting along, and lecturing Rocket underlings each time their work wasn't up to her (some would say insane) standards. Then it was inside to check the indoor kennel and the isolation room that housed the "special cases."

She swiped her ID in the electronic lock opening the iso door with a pressurized woosh. The hybrids rose in their cages when she came in. Unlike her underlings, Fi didn't shy away from the uglier ones. They were still real Pokémon with real feelings, after all. No matter how twisted they looked on the outside.

She lingered by the newest arrival's cage longest, trying to coax him to eat just a little.

"I'm sorry you had to go through this. I know it wasn't your choice," she crooned. "But you have skills now no Meowth has ever had. Just think... you're as rare and special as a legendary Pokémon!" She slid the bowl of kibble closer. "But if you want to become powerful like them first you need to keep up your strength. So, here. It's my own recipe. No more of that bulk food, I promise."

The hybrid (it hadn't told anyone its new name yet) took up a piece of kibble, and after a long pause, finally popped it in his mouth. Fiora watched with satisfaction as it swallowed and reached for another bite. Sometimes all it took was a little flattery.

She stepped out of isolation and back into the kennel, just in time to find three grunts arguing over whose turn it was to feed Raven. Fiora listened for a moment, chuckling at the sheer absurdity of some of the excuses. Then, when that got boring, she put her foot down and did the boss thing.

"Stop being a bunch of wusses and do your job already!" Her minions cowered right on cue, bowed apologetically, and slunk over to Raven's cage in the far corner. Fiora smiled as she watched them go, soaking in the warm feel of power. Sometimes it was the littlest joys in life that kept her going.

She slipped into her private office and took a seat at her desk, still watching the drama through the glass window. How long would they take today before Raven kicked their butts and they had to come ask her for help? The standing record was thirty seconds.

Fiora leaned back in her black-leather chair, which was simple and comfortable yet just tall enough to make her feel important. She smiled to herself as she watched Raven's Whirlwind attack sent one underling soaring passed her office window screaming. She felt her eyes grow heavy. Just another day in paradise...

In her dreams, she found herself, as she often did, seated in front of Giovanni's desk two and a half years ago...

#

 _Fiora didn't like this office or the plush chair at her back. They felt too much like a display. Like her old life. She was small in the shadow of the tall, oak desk. And she was tired of being small._

 _At least the man seated behind the desk was real. She could see his eyes narrowing. The corner of his mouth twitching as he looked her up and down. He wasn't going to take pity on her because she was sick._

 _"So then," he said in a hard, boss-ly tone. She wouldn't expect anything less from the leader of a multi-million dollar criminal organization. "You're the one?"_

 _Fiora held his gaze. "Yes, sir."_

 _"The one who called up my gym, threatening to expose me to the police."_

 _"Yes, sir."_

 _"Who hounded one of my agents until he brought you here... to my personal office."_

 _"Yes, sir."_

 _The man's voice was rising, his face flushing tamato-berry red. Almost the same shade as his snappy suit._

 _"And now you actually have the nerve to sit there and demand that I, Giovanni, make you a member of my organization."_

 _"Yes, sir."_

 _His fingers drummed the desk. Most of his underlings would have broken down by now. Or at the very least cowered a little. On the surface, Fiora knew she looked like the type who would cower. Physically she was all ribs and skin, her complexion pale-not exactly stand-your-ground-and-risk-injury material. In another life, she might very well have shattered to pieces the second his voice raised. But she had left that person behind in a blaze of explosive, Team Rocket glory._

 _She still had to make things official, though._

 _She glanced aside and found Pierce. Probably the only friend she had in the world. Ironic since they barely knew each other. Did two visits and a few phone calls over four years count as friendship?_

 _She hoped so._

 _Pierce took her cue, hefting the heavy briefcase and setting it on Giovanni's desk._

 _She cleared her throat. "I know I've caused you some trouble. And I want to make amends So please accept this bribe-this token-of my sincerest apologies."_

 _Giovanni blinked at her and she smiled back at him. He flipped the briefcase tabs and lifted the lid. From inside a pillow of red-velvet he lifted a statue. Nothing fancy. Just your average, run-of-the-mill, 10,000-year-old Persian statue from back when statues were chiseled by hand out of gold and set with rubies._

 _Giovanni set the statue down, front and center on his desk, letting Pierce take the briefcase away. Then he sat back down and steepled his fingers._

 _"You have thirty seconds."_

 _That would do. She only needed five. "My name is Fiora Bloodstone Sycamore and I want you to make me a member of Team Rocket."_

 _Fiora watched the man raise an eyebrow at the last part, as she figured he would. The one useful thing her father ever gave her. His name came with a reputation._

 _"Sycamore..." Giovanni was muttering. "Kalos' leading expert in Pokémon mega evolution..."_

 _He was already typing away one-handed, his eyes flicking almost imperceptively to a monitor on his desk._

 _"The very same. Oh, but don't bother looking for me in his file. Apparently neglecting a sick kid would only muck up his image." The words rolled off her tongue so easy. Too easy, some would say. After all, family was supposed to stick together, right?_

 _Apparently her father never got the memo. Or he still wasn't convinced she was his... which was pathetic really, considering how much she took after the guy. She had his blue eyes, his hair-dark and wild-his love of Pokémon, and his hunger to learn. Oh yeah, and the willingness to abandon family to pursue his own goal. She got that from him, too._

 _"Sick with what?" Giovanni asked. There was no pity there. No tiptoeing around her like she was made of glass. Giovanni was a real businessman and, he wanted to know all the risks before he made an investment in her. As well he should._

 _"Bad DNA," she replied._

 _"How long do you have?"_

 _Pierce tensed beside her. It looked like he was going to say something, then clamped his mouth shut._

 _She didn't flinch. "Two years. Maybe three."_

 _She patted Pierce's arm, jarring him. He moved back over to Giovanni's desk and placed down a second briefcase._

 _Fiora leaned back in the cushy armchair, not breaking eye-contact. "Here's my proposition. You make me a Team Rocket member. You give me a job... and I mean a real job. None of this sitting quietly researchers-assistant crap-something that requires neurons. You do that, and I'll serve you loyally for the rest of my life. Starting now."_

 _Pierce opened the briefcase with a flourish and the greedy flash in Giovanni's eyes made her heart soar._

 _Inside the case the last shred of her morality lay in neat, glittering little rows. One man's lifetime worth of research and toil and sacrifice-and she had just handed it to the leader of Team Rocket to use as he pleased for whatever evil experiments he wanted. She almost wished her father was there right now, if only to see the look on his face. Oh, well, can't win them all._

 _"Do we have a deal?"_

 _Giovanni closed the case and gestured for Pierce to take it somewhere. His evil genius lab probably. "Please, call me Boss."_

 _"Yes, Boss."_

 _He hit a button on his intercom._

 _"Jessie! James! Please escort Agent Fiora to orientation."_

 _"Yes, Boss!" two voices answered in unison. He "humphed" in satisfaction then looked back across the desk at her. "You'll be given paperwork. Fill out your... personal requirements there. And your skills, of course."_

 _"Yes, Boss."_

 _The both stood and she shook his hand. On the floor behind his desk Giovanni's Persian rose from a velvet pillow, stretched, and yawned. It was well fed. Well groomed. Giovanni clearly was a man who loved what he valued and valued what he loved._

 _Fiora gave the Pokémon a friendly head pat when it came to sniff her. True, she might never be as valued as the Boss's precious pet. Or even as one of his underlings. But at least now, here, she would have a chance to try._

 _#_

The memory faded from her mind and she woke to the sensation of paws on her lap and a Pokémon's voice right in her face.

"Ab-SOL!"

Fiora's eyes flew open. Absol looked panicked. How long had he been trying to wake her? She reached up and rubbed the Pokémon behind his sickle-shaped horn, trying to ignore the shake in her hand. "I'm fine. I was just resting my eyes."

"Absol! Absol! Ab-sol!" Absol lectured. It was kinda touching.

She straightened, rolling her shoulders. Absol hadn't let her doze for long, thank goodness. It was bad enough her fellow Rocket members were starting to give her piteous looks. The last thing she needed was for them to see her passed out right there at her desk.

As she rubbed her eyes, she became vaguely aware of her office door opening. Someone called her name.

"What? What? I wasn't sleeping!" She fixed blurry eyes on the entrance and found Pierce stepping inside. "Oh. It's you. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off, I don't know, managing that project you're manager of?" He closed the door behind him, not even batting an eye at her little jab.

"I brought you some brunch."

"Oh. Thanks." She wasn't really hungry. Hadn't been for a while, actually. But Pierce had gone out of his way to spoil her this time. Egg sandwiches, her favorite food ever, toasted to golden brown perfection. Fresh squeezed citrus-berry juice. Even a fancy folded napkin. The least she could do was try and humor him.

She took a bite. "You forgot the tamato berries."

He held up one finger. "I didn't forget. You're not supposed to eat spicy foods anymore, remember? Doctor's orders."

Fiora groaned. "Yeah, yeah. No spicy foods. No strenuous activity. No fun of any kind." She took another bite and sighed in disappointment at the bland flavor. "So you wanna tell me what you really want? By the looks of this brunch, it must be something I'm not going to like."

Pierce rubbed the back of his head. He hated that she could read him so well. But in her defense the guy was boorishly predictable.

"Well, I've been given a new assignment. I'm heading out tomorrow with Agents Jessie and James-"

"Uh!" she made a disgusted noise. "Tweedle-Diva and Tweedle-Dunce? Okay, out with it. What did you do to piss off the Boss?"

"Wha-Nothing!" He shook his head. "Anyway that's not important. What matters is I'm going to be gone for a few days and I asked Agents Butch and Cassidy-"

"No."

"-to look after you."

"Forget it. No way. Not happening." She crossed her arms, heat rising to her face. So that was what he wanted from her. Compliance. Well, that wasn't going to happen, not even for a million egg sandwiches. "I do _not_ need that pair of loudmouth morons telling the whole organization how it takes me an hour just to get out of bed."

She shouldn't have said that. Pierce's eyes were already deepening with concern. The kind of look that made her want to hug him and slap him at the same time. She had warned him not to get attached right from the start. But the sentimental fool didn't listen.

She shook her head and forced her voice to stay steady as she replied. "I'll be fine with Absol. Please, just go on your mission. I'll still be here when you get back."

She tried to smile but knew it was a bittersweet gesture. Pierce wasn't an idiot. She wouldn't be able to say that for much longer, and both of them knew it.

"Fine," he said. "But if you need anything-"

"Harass Butch and Cassidy. I got it. What's this new assignment, anyway? Teaching the two stooges to tie their own shoelaces?"

Pierce gripped the doorframe. "Giovanni... seemed to recognize some kid in this surveillance footage I found. Or, recognize his family name, at least-"

"A kid?" She didn't like the sound of that. Not one bit. "What kind of kid?"

"I don't know, the teenager kind!" Pierce said, sounding exasperated. Then he narrowed his eyes at her. "Stop being paranoid. The boss respects you, which is more than I can say for most people. Even if this _is_ a recruitment mission, and he didn't say it was, your position is more than secure."

"It better be."

She hand-waved him off in a 'now let me get back to work' kind of way, even though she hadn't actually done any paperwork that morning. Nor was she going to. When Pierce finally left she fumbled in one of her desk drawers, fished out a bottle of tamato-berry hot sauce and splurted a nice glob on her half-eaten sandwich. Then she leaned back in her chair, propped her feet up, and ate slowly, savoring every spicy morsel.

#

Sabrina stirred anxiously in the throne-like chair at her gym. The space was silent now… no new challengers bursting in, Pokemon all resting… and it was times like these she was most likely to get her premonitions, even if they were vague and not necessarily helpful.

She closed her eyes and felt an old sensation… that tug at her innermost being, that unquenchable thirst for power. She could sense she would be given the opportunity to have more of it… much more than she had now. But the offer would come at a cost… a great decision would have to be made on her part if the bargain was worth it. She could feel nothing beyond that, and it frustrated her more than she could ever explain.

She heard the creak of hinges; a crack of light extended on the red gym floor as the door opened ever-so-slightly. Sabrina startled, fully awakened from her dreamlike trance.

"Miss Sabrina?" called the timid voice of a student. Zoe, that was it. The girl was a promising young trainer. Or at least, she was a trainer who could bend spoons without popping a blood vessel. "Miss Sabrina, is everything all right in here?"

Sabrina straightened up. "Yes…" she said slowly. Did she share what she had seen? No, she couldn't. Not yet, at any rate. Perhaps as the details began to reveal themselves, she could then seek advice. For now, the best action was to wait and let fate take its course.

"Yes," she assured Zoe, more confidently this time. "Yes, I'm doing just fine."


	3. A Quick Surrender

_a/n: Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter... on vacation last week. We will now resume our regular every-other-Friday schedule..._

 _But first! An important question! We know that Sabrina is going to look into a merger later in the story, but we still haven't decided which Pokemon she would be more likely to choose. We've narrowed it down to Gardevoir and Alakazam. Please leave a comment and give us your opinion! Thanks so much! -Rowan and Katrina_

#

Ash knew of no greater pain than watching a Pokémon suffer. Watching his Pikachu suffer was the worst pain of all. Team Rocket knew this; he'd demonstrated it many times before. Only now he was unfortunate to have it used against him.

Passing through the Kanto region on a brief visit, Ash had been fortunate enough to be able to visit with Misty and Brock. Taking a stroll alongside the beautiful peaks of Mt. Moon, memories flowed back to him of the old days. He almost jokingly offered to borrow Misty's bike, but then decided she probably wouldn't appreciate the humor.

It was when they took a path up along one of the mountainside cliffs that Ash started to feel a little nervous. He couldn't explain why exactly, only that he had the sense they were being watched. He almost called out to his friends that maybe they should turn back… but it wasn't as if he could see the threat, and Misty was insistent that the view at the top of the cliff was so beautiful… he kept walking and kept quiet. And for a while, everything seemed to go great. The view at the top of the path was indeed breathtaking; the mountains that the Clefairy called home stretched on for miles. But the moment Ash started to let his guard down was the moment Team Rocket attacked.

There was no warning, no motto. A dark shape swooped out of the air and snatched up Pikachu. Ash called for his friend, and Pikachu naturally tried to defend itself, but whatever had grabbed it seemed to shrug off even Pikachu's most powerful electric blast.

"I'm afraid that's not going to work this time," said a voice. Ash watched as three figures emerged from the shadows of the nearby trees — Jessie and James he knew all too well, but instead of Meowth by their side, they had another Team Rocket member with black hair and hard eyes. "Forgive the intrusion. My name is Pierce. I should warn you, my Gliscor is an extremely high level, and its ground type designation makes it immune to electric attacks. I'm afraid your Pikachu is quite at its mercy right now."

He was right. The realization sent a knot twisting in Ash's stomach. He vaguely caught sight of Brock and Misty stepping in alongside him, supporting him. But his mind couldn't focus on them, only on the Rocket standing in front of the trees, his hand fingering a Pokéball, his face devoid of mercy.

"I'm warning you," Ash said, "leave Pikachu alone and get out of here or–"

The rocket narrowed his eyes, cold as green glass. Then he motioned to his Gliscor, who kept its firm grip on Pikachu and flew out further over the cliffside.

"I'm afraid you're not in a position to make demands."

Seeing the immense height from which it was now suspended, Pikachu cried out in fear, making a vain attempt to cling to its captor. Gliscor, in return, gave Pikachu a nip on the paw.

"What are you doing!" Ash screamed, voicing echoing off the mountainside. His heart caught in his throat. Even Team Rocket couldn't sink this low. They wouldn't… they couldn't kill a Pokémon, could they? Not even Jessie and James looked sure anymore. Jessie, though smiling smugly, had sweat dipping down her forehead and James just shuffled his feet and looked at the ground, as if he felt guilty for being there at all.

"Hang on, Pikachu!" Ash called to his friend. "I'm going to save you!"

Brock already had his hand on his Pokéball belt when the new guy held up a finger at him, making a _tsk-tsk-tsk_ sound. "Now, now, don't do anything rash," he warned. "My Gliscor has orders to release Pikachu he it feels even the slightest threat from the group of you. I suggest you remain calm."

Brock cursed under his breath, but put his hand down.

"You'll never get away with this!" Misty growled. "You've tried to capture Pikachu a million times before, and a million times, you've failed."

"Oh, we're not after Pikachu," Jessie piped up. "In fact, we're not after a Pokémon at all." She pointed to Ash.

"That's right," added James. "Our boss has asked us to deliver a personal invitation to you. How do you feel about joining Team Rocket?"

Ash's hands tightened into fists. "You didn't have to come all this way just to ask that. My answer is no."

"Oh dear," said Jessie, "I'm afraid 'no' is not one of the options the boss gave us. I believe we will accept 'yes' and 'absolutely', though. How about you try again?"

"Gli…" Gliscor grinned and flapped its wings harder, hovering even higher than before. Pikachu looked like it might be ready to faint. Ash himself felt faint, too. After all the times they'd fought Team Rocket off, this was how his conflict with them ended? A stupid threat and he just surrendered? But as he looked down at the trees that seemed like toys from this height, he realized he couldn't do anything else. The thought of losing Pikachu tore through him in a way that nothing else could. If joining the ranks of Team Rocket kept Pikachu safe, it wasn't even a question.

Ash raised his hands. "Fine. I surrender. Or whatever it is you want to hear."

"Ash!" Brock and Misty yelled together. He didn't turn to face them, however. No way were they talking him out of this. Jessie, James blinked in surprise, as if Ash's surrender came more easily than even they had expected. Pierce just nodded, like he hadn't expected anything less.

"Your Pikachu is safe when you're in our custody," Pierce said. "There's a helicopter waiting to escort you to headquarters on the next ledge over." He started walking and motioned for him to follow. "Let's go." Ash stepped after him. If Pikachu was safe, that was all that mattered.

"N-now hang on a second!" Misty called out. Pierce did nothing to acknowledge her, but Jessie and James stopped in their tracks and turned.

"I-I…" Misty stuttered, as if she'd been totally unprepared for any of them to actually listen to her. "The thing is… Ash, Brock, and I are a team."

"We are?" Brock said, confused. Ash didn't blame him. Yes, they had traveled together for a long time, but that was years ago. They'd all gone their separate ways by now. And since this fight with Team Rocket had been settled, Misty had no reason to instigate another one.

"What, you want to come too, little girl?" Jessie teased.

Misty gritted her teeth. "As a matter of fact, I do!" she announced.

"What?" Ash exclaimed, only to hear his question echoed by everyone else around him.

Misty put her hands on her hips, as if everyone's bewilderment only emboldened her. "You're not doing this alone, Ash," she said. "Whatever these losers want, I'm going to be there alongside you."

"Oh, and what about me?" Brock asked and stepped forward. "I've traveled with Ash even longer than you have. Shouldn't I go on this life-risking escapade, too?"

"Sorry, but the invitation wasn't a free-for-all," Jessie snapped back and turned to leave. Pierce put up a hand to stop her.

"You two," he said, nodding at Brock and Misty. "You both are gym leaders, are you not?"

"You bet we are!" Misty snapped.

"Our gyms are sufficiently staffed to accommodate our absences," Brock added in an oh-so-professional tone.

A slight smile broke out on Pierce's face. "I would think the boss would be more than happy to meet with the two of you. Please, step them way." And with a casual gesture, he began to lead to group of six down the steep walkways of Mt. Moon.

#

Pierce had to compliment himself. The targets were secure — another job done quickly and efficiently. The truck hadn't been particularly designed to carry human prisoners, but it did have space for Pokémon of all sizes. Recently, the team had snagged two Blastoises and an Emboar, and their cages were still in there, conveniently the perfect size for the whining brats they'd been sent to capture.

Their Pokéballs, of course, Pierce immediately threw into a lockbox and kept it as his feet in the passenger seat. He made James do the driving. The man was a moron, but he at least kept the truck on the road. That left Jessie to squish in between them.

There was one Pokémon Pierce did not have in a Pokéball. The Pikachu. He had demanded the Pokéball from its owner of course, but he had none. The little yellow rat had simply been following its trainer this whole time. Now, of course, it lay unconscious in a much smaller cage on Pierce's lap. Jessie and James were positively beside themselves with glee. Not because they'd successfully completed a mission for once in their pathetic lives. Not even because that had managed to accomplish said mission without getting burned, nearly drowned, electrocuted or exploded in their attempts to take down the trainer Giovanni had requested.

No, it seemed the reason for their unfathomable giddiness was they had their hands on said trainer's Pikachu. A Pikachu. One of the most common Pokémon in Viridian City. Jessie kept clapping her hands in delight every time she peeked in the cage, jabbing Pierce in the ribs with her elbow in the process, and James was humming and giggling to himself as he gripped the steering wheel.

Pierce rolled his eyes. They hadn't had that Meowth with them lately; perhaps the catlike Pokémon had been the sane glue holding their lunacy together.

"We'll be turning over all the Pokémon we captured to Fiora," he told them as the truck pulled in to the Viridian Gym garage. James froze and nervously at Jessie. Jessie stopped stroking the Pikachu's cage, a little vein bulging on her forehead.

"Wait, _that_ little witch is still here?" she growled.

Pierce gritted his teeth. "She is a member of Team Rocket, the same as you are, and frankly, she's more competent on her worst days that either of you have been in your pathetic lives!"

The prisoners in the truck, including the Pokémon, all jumped at the end of his sentence. Had he started yelling? What was wrong with him? When people irritated him, he would simply bribe, lie and steal until he got intel on how to make their lives utter misery. Which he would then do. Yelling was undignified.

He cleared his throat. "Get the Pokémon ready. As for our… other guests…" He turned around and narrowed his eyes at the two former gym leaders in their cages behind them. "Extra security is waiting for their arrival. They'll be escorted to the holding cells in the basement."

The group arrived at the Viridian City gym within a couple hours, and the transfer process began smoothly enough. James pulled the truck into its spot, and three Rocket grunts stood by to take the prisoners to their cells. Pierce unlocked their cages one by one, being especially careful with the boy Giovanni had sent them to fetch in the first place.

 _Ash, that was it,_ Pierce suddenly remembered. How very forgettable; no wonder it had slipped his mind. He stepped out of the truck and bent down to pick up the lockbox of Pokéballs and the pikachu's cage when one of the grunts cried out, "Um, sir? We may– ouch! We may need some assistance!"

Pierce gripped the box and walked around to the back of the van.

"I'm not going anywhere without Pikachu!" Ash was yelling. The two former gym leaders, while they weren't making any such specific demands, were nonetheless giving his staff a rather difficult time. Brock stomped on his guard's foot, while Misty bit hers on the hand. Twice.

Pierce growled with frustration. He strode over, ready to start lecturing the minions on how absurdly stupid it was was to come to collect prisoners without any form of restraint. Then a voice rang out.

"Need a hand there?" Fiora emerged from around the corner, Absol pacing dutifully at her side. She twirled a roll of duct tape around in her hand, smiling a bit smugly as she tossed it to the nearest grunt. It thwaked the guy right in the forehead before he caught it. Then she projected her voice to attention-grabbing volume.

"Listen up! We can do this the easy way, or the really easy way. It's your choice."

Brock and Misty stilled, and after a sizable pause to consider, so did Ash. Jessie and James, who weren't even the targets of Fiora's wrath, cowered and stepped back.

Amazing. Even now, as sick as she was, Fiora still managed to surprise him.

"Wise choice," said Pierce nodding with approval. "Take them away." The grunts did what they were supposed to, finally. And this time both Brock and Misty went without a fuss.

"Guys!" Ash called. He would have tried to run to them too, if Pierce didn't catch him by the shirt-back.

"No. You stay. The boss has plans for you."

Fiora was approaching them in earnest now. Pierce could see her chest heaving from the effort of trying to push herself to walk faster.

Absol gave a happy bark of greeting when they finally drew close.

"Hello, Absol. I trust you kept everything under control while I was gone."

"Ab-sol-ab," the Pokémon said, sticking up its chin.

Fiora rolled her eyes. She looked Ash up and down as she slowly regained her breath. "So, this the kid?"

"Yes," Pierce said, looking aside to the teen in question. Not at all surprisingly, he found Ash studying Fiora like she was some sort of new Pokémon species. He wasn't even trying to be subtle about it, either. Not that Fiora would care. She preferred blunt rudeness and direct questions over stolen over-the-shoulder glances and behind-the-back whispers. Still…

Pierce cleared his throat. "This is Agent Fiora," he told Ash. "She is head caretaker and will be tending to your Pokémon when they're not in use."

Ash blinked. "Wait… you're _keeping_ them?"

"You surrendered them willingly, if I recall."

The color drained from the teen's face. Like he hadn't understood what "join Team Rocket" actually meant. Obviously he wasn't the brightest Lanturn in the ocean. Either that or he had had been so busy trying to save Pikachu's life, he hadn't considered what might happen to the rest of his Pokémon. Too bad for him.

Pierce felt Fiora's eyes on him then and looked up, startled to see a spark of outrage in them.

"Don't talk about Pokémon like they're tools, Pierce. It's rude," she snapped.

He cleared his throat, still keeping up professional appearances, even as he offered her the cage with Pikachu and the lockbox with the rest of Pokéballs in the most appeasing way possible.

"Anyway… here are your new charges."

 _"_ _Her_ new charges!" Jessie stormed over. "Why should she get to take Pikachu?"

"Yeah!" James chimed in. "We should be the ones to give it to the boss."

Fiora waved them off. "Pierce finishes a mission in a few hours that the two of you have been failing at for _years_ and you think the boss really wants to see you? Please. You'll be lucky if you still have jobs after today."

Pierce felt himself smirk as James's face fell. Beside him, Jessie flushed bright red.

"Why you little–" She clenched her fists, forehead veins pulsing as Fiora reached for Pikachu's cage.

"Pi…" protested Pikachu. It tried to stand but collapsed again, cheeks sparking weakly in anger.

Ash looked like he was going to be sick. And Fiora… she turned on Pierce fast as a Seviper.

"What the–What's wrong with that Pikachu? Don't tell me you went out without any potions."

"No, I–" he faltered.

This wasn't good.

"So you forgot to treat it or you just didn't bother?" She punched him. Actually hit him in the shoulder with real effort and anger behind it. And she was yelling right in his face. "How could you be so careless!" She swayed in place, then started to cough.

Not good at all.

Without thinking he tossed the Pikachu's cage to Jessie so he could catch her.

"You overdid it–"

Fiora glared at him.

"No." _cough_ "I didn't–" _cough_ "I'm fine. Need to get Pikachu to–" _cough_ "–for treatment–"

Jessie stepped forward then, a scheming look on her face.

"We'll take care of the twerp's Pokémon."

"Yes," said James. "Just leave everything to us."

Fiora growled. "If you two set one _toe_ in my kennel–"

Pierce looked around, his head swimming. "Quiet!" He pointed hastily to Jessie and James. "You two, take the Pokémon down to the kennel, but don't touch _anything_ until Fiora gets there. Fiora, take a break. That's an order, understand?"

She glared at him harder, her eyes turning cold and turbulent as a frozen waterfall.

"Of course, _sir_. Whatever you say, _sir_. You want me to lick your boots while I'm at it, _sir_?"

Pierce massaged his temples. "Just. Go."

She tugged on Absol's harness, directing the Pokémon away sharply. It glanced anxiously over its shoulder as they departed down a corridor. Jessie and James scampered off merrily, turning a different direction.

"Pika!" Pikachu called for Ash. It was loyal to a fault, that one. Probably wasn't going to take the trade-over to Team Rocket custody well. If only those idiots Jessie and James could have captured it sooner…

"Hang in there, buddy! I'll get you out somehow!" Ash called back, probably trying to reassure himself as much as his friend. Pierce gave his shoulder a nudge.

"Let's go."

"Where are you taking me?" he demanded.

"The Boss set aside a special room for you. I hope you will find it comfortable."

Ash grit his teeth but complied. He didn't have much choice, really.

Pierce led him inside to an express elevator that opened with a swipe from his ID badge. After dropping a good ten floors, they emerged into a maze of hallways that always reminded him a bit of a hotel rather than a criminal organization's headquarters: carpeted floor, fancy wallpaper, even soft music playing in the background. It was quite pleasant, actually. Not like the lower floors. They were all cold metal walls, white tile, and flickering fluorescent lights. Still it was better than the streets had been.

Before long, they arrived at their destination. The boss had gone all out for this one, giving the kid a rather spacious suite with a bedroom, a lounge area, even a little kitchen. There was already a table of food set out with a spread that could easily rival the buffet at the staff holiday party. Not that Ash would likely eat any of it. He was still rattling off questions, even as Pierce shoved him inside and was halfway through closing the door.

"Just what does your boss want from me, anyway?"

"You'll have to ask him yourself when you meet him later." He paused. Wasn't he forgetting something? Oh yes… "One more thing. I'll need your hat."

Ash looked dumbstruck, then just plain angry.

He yanked it off and threw it into Pierce's chest. He had to fumble to catch it, and grimaced in disgust when he finally got a hold of the sweat-stained object. He clutched the hat with two fingers, holding it some distance away.

"I'll return to collect you when the Boss is ready. In the meantime, please make yourself comfortable. You're going to be here for a while."


	4. The Thunderstone

"This way," Jessie said, motioning with her head, since her hands were a little bit full at the moment. James looked curiously down the hallway she had started towards and then back at the hallway he had been heading for himself.

"Um, Jessie?" he asked. "I may be mistaken, but wasn't the plan to bring Pikachu and the twerp's other Pokémon to the boss's office before Pierce writes up his report and destroys our reputation and our careers?"

"Brilliant, isn't it? We'll dazzle the boss and get a promotion right under that witch Fiora's nose." Jessie looked downright pleased with herself.

"Yes, but erm… isn't the boss's office the other way?"

"Yes, it is," Jessie said, not turning around. She didn't give him more of an explanation than that, but then again, James was used to having to follow up if he wanted Jessie to explain herself.

"Then, why are we going in not-that-direction?" he asked.

At this, Jessie turned and grinned like she couldn't be more thrilled that James had posed the question. "Because down here happens to be where Team Rocket keeps certain valuable supplies… including evolution stones."

"Ooo. Right. I get it," James said with a giggle, even though he didn't get it at all. If the stones were already owned by Team Rocket, then what was picking them up and bringing them to the boss going to accomplish? Unless Jessie was talking about using them on one of the Pokémon, but they didn't have any in their possession that–

"Wait a second!" James exclaimed, now scrambling to keep up with Jessie, who was halfway down the hall. She shushed him angrily, and he lowered his voice. "You're not actually talking about using a Thunderstone on Pikachu, are you?"

"And why wouldn't I?" Jessie asked. "We both know this Pikachu is amazing. So it would have to be all the more amazing after it evolves, right?"

"Y-yes," James agreed. "But… it doesn't _want_ to evolve. Don't you remember? We were there when it faced off against a Raichu to prove itself. We even formed a cheerleading squad."

Jessie seemed either not to hear him or didn't care to hear him. Instead she approached a panel on the wall, put in a series of numbers, and kept smiling like a little girl who'd gotten her first starter Pokémon. James had his suspicions where she had gotten the series of numbers (and how much the boss actually wanted her to have them), but he kept quiet for the time being.

The heavy door clicked open and they stepped inside to find the cozy little laboratory they had been expecting had been transformed into a full-out Pokémon research wing, complete with kennels, exam tables, and all sorts of glittery equipment.

"Looks like the boss did some upgrading while we were away," he observed.

Jessie looked annoyed but pressed on. Fortunately, whoever had designed the place kept it well organized. Before long, they spotted a cabinet marked "evolution stones" in one of the lab's many storage rooms.

Inside the cage, Pikachu stirred as Jessie set it down on a nearby exam table and reached into the cabinet to pull out a shimmering green stone. Weak as it was, the electric rodent seemed to recognize what was happening at once. It let out a screech and a hiss, bearing its needle-like teeth at them.

"Now, now, that's no way to talk," Jessie said, shaking the Thunderstone at Pikachu with a _tsk-tsk_ sort of motion. "After all, you'll be meeting our boss for the first time. You really should be polite."

Quick as a flash, she threw on her pair of rubber gloves and opened the cage. In its weakened state, Pikachu could not fend her off. She snatched it up with one hand and with the other, forced the Thunderstone against its bright red electric pouch. Pikachu put up quite a struggle, James would give the little rodent credit for that. The strange thing was that it didn't struggle so much with Jessie as it did with the evolution itself. Even as its body began to glow with the energy of evolution, Pikachu screeched and tried everything to pull away from the stone, as if the whole process caused it intense pain. For a moment, its struggles actually seemed to be working. Its body, which had started to grow in size, began to shrink down again as Pikachu gritted its teeth and struggled against the change.

"Oh no, you don't," Jessie said, and pressed the stone harder against Pikachu's cheek. Exhausted, Pikachu lost its struggle and its body began to grow again. Its lightning-bolt-shaped tale stretched thin, its legs began longer and more muscular, and its ears fanned out. When the evolutionary light faded, Pikachu wasn't Pikachu anymore.

The new Raichu slowly opened one eye and looked over its new form. It let out a gasp of shock and stumbled backwards as if trying to back away from itself. James didn't feel guilty terribly often. He felt so now. It was fine to debate if stone-induced evolution was a good thing or not. But surely the Pokémon's feelings had to play into it. What he had just stood by and let happen… it felt wrong. It had to be wrong. And even though he knew Jessie would never admit it, James guessed from her worried face that she felt a bit guilty, too.

"Well," she said, dropping the stone to the floor. "Now, there's no need to make a fuss. What's done is done, and there's no changing it. Time to get back to the boss."

The Raichu shook its head emphatically, still gritting its teeth. "Chu… Chu…" it muttered at them. Then, with a blazing defiance in its bright eyes, it looked straight at Jessie and shouted out, "Pi. Ka. Chu!"

Jessie gasped. James jumped back. They must have heard that wrong. Surely it wasn't possible. No Pokémon ever spoke another Pokémon's language. And yet…

"No, not 'Pika'!" Jessie said in a quavering voice. "Rai! Say, 'Raichu'!"

"Pikachu!" the electric Pokémon snapped back at her.

Well, this was bad. James wasn't completely sure what the bad consequences of this bad thing would be… maybe a part of him had been hoping that if this whole forced evolution had worked correctly, he and Jessie could just pretend this was some random Raichu they'd captured. But a Pokémon saying the wrong name would most certainly draw questions, which would force him and Jessie to explain why they hadn't taken the Pokémon straight to Fiora as instructed, and–

"What are yous two doing down here?"

James froze. That voice. It had been weeks since he last heard it, but after all their years of travel together, he'd recognize it anywhere.

"Meowth?" he said in shock, looking to see where the voice had come from. Jessie was doing the same. Then James' eye caught a flicker of movement — a Pokémon stepping out of the shadows. It had Meowth's face, but it seemed to be walking on all fours, which was very strange since their Meowth never walked on all fours. HIs color was off too, more of a bluish tone that Meowth's usual light beige. But it was when Meowth flicked its tail that James realized just how wrong things were here. The tail didn't look anything like a Meowth's — in fact, if James had to put a Pokémon to it, he would say the tail looked like it belonged to a Vaporeon, thick, muscular, with two flukes to propel it smoothly through water.

But that had been Meowth's voice. And James was looking right at Meowth's face. The freakish hybrid of a Pokémon took a few more steps forward, looking between Jessie, James, and Pika-Raichu with a mix of shock and fury.

"If you're gonna be sneaky, how about you try doing it _not_ right in the middle of Fiora's lab?"

"'Fiora's lab? Since when?" Jessie said with a nervous laugh.

"Um, I think more to the point… what happened to you, Meowth?"

Meowth seemed to freeze up at this question, and shook its head. Before Jessie or James could press it for any more answers, they heard the sound of a padlocked door swishing open across the room followed by the jangle of a Pokémon harness.

#

"Just who does he think he is? Snapping orders at me. _Me_!"

And he called himself her friend. Why if it wasn't for _her,_ Mr. Highly respected Elite Agent Pierce would still be nothing more then a glorified errand boy!

She entered the clearance code to into the main entry keypad with quick, forceful strokes. "Do me a favor, would you Absol?" She looked to the Pokémon still at her side. "The next time you see your trainer, tell him Fiora said he can go kiss the backside of a Muk."

"Ab-sol," said Absol, a bit defensively, but Fiora turned up her nose.

"That's right I said it. And I mean it, too."

The door clicked open right on cue. She paused a second to take a few, still slightly ragged breaths then squared her shoulders. She needed to focus now. This was still her lab. And Pikachu her charge. No matter what a certain self-absorbed, over-hairsprayed diva and her dimwit sidekick claimed. And she was going to make sure they remembered that, too. No matter how much her body ached or how exhausted she was.

She pushed open the first set of doors with force and stepped into the little entrance foyer, expecting to see Jessie and James jump in surprise. Only they weren't there.

 _Maaaann! And I had a dramatic lecture planned and everything!_

Maybe they got lost. Wandering aimlessly around their own hideout like clueless idiots seemed like something they'd do. Oh well. At least now she'd have time to get comfortable. Perhaps she'd drag out her tall office chair and set it right near the front door for when they did finally show up. She smiled at the thought, imagining the look on Jessie and Jame's faces when they walked in to find her, sitting tall and glaring, with Absol at her feet just like the Boss and his Persian. If that didn't put the scare into them, nothing would.

A swipe of her ID card opened the second of the pressurized doors leading into the lab itself.

Odd, the lights were already on.

 _Did I forget to flick the switch on my way out yesterday?_

She wouldn't put it past herself. Fiora had been getting more and more forgetful lately. But surely Absol would have reminded her…

She looked to her side and found the Pokémon had his hackles up. And was that… movement inside one the rooms?

Her hand found the door and she threw all her weight into it. This time the slam had the effect she had been going for. Both Jessie and James scrambled to attention in front of a lab table, smiling stiff, nervous, way-too-appeasing smiles.

"How did you idiots get in here?" she snapped, then reconsidered. "No. Never mind that. Where's the Pikachu?"

"The Pikachu?" James questioned.

"Yes. The Pikachu. The one you two wasted hundreds of thousands of company funds on yet didn't have the sense to heal." She arched her eyebrows. Was that its cage behind them? She inched aside trying to get a better look. But Jessie and James kept scooting over to block her view.

"Oh _that_ Pikachu!" Jessie laughed. "Well, you see, you took so long getting here we already took care of it."

"Yep," James agreed. "It's sound asleep. At this very moment, actually."

"So looks like you're not needed here after all," Jessie chimed back in. She even had the nerve to hand-wave towards the exit.

Absol growled. He took a step forward, nudged at something on the ground, then picked it up and brought it to Fiora. Her blood raced when she recognized the gray, faceted surface of a spent evolution stone. Jessie and James went ashen.

"What did you do?" Fiora demanded marching forward.

"Well, you see," James stammered. A glare and a snarl from Absol was all it took to send him scurrying aside. Behind him was the cage, covered with a sheet, like they actually thought that would hide it. When she yanked it off a spark of electricity shot passed her face.

"Easy there," Fiora said as she looked down into the furious face of a Raichu. Had those idiots actually evolved Pikachu without the Boss's permission?

The Raichu sparked again, glaring. "Pika-chu-pika-pi!"

Fiora felt her jaw slacken. Behind her, she could hear Jessie and James inching for the door.

"I'm sure your trainer is fine," Fiora said when she regained her voice. She attached a feeder to the cage, re-draped it with the sheet, and lit a Poké-nip incense. "We'll talk later. After you've had a chance to calm down."

"Pi-ka!" growled Raichu, its eyes already starting to droop. Only when she was sure it was asleep did she point her associates out of the room, hands shading with anger. The Meowth hybrid picked up the spent Thunderstone (it was still round and shiny, after all), and walked out first.

It took everything in Fiora to close the door without slamming it, and she turned in slow motion to Jessie and James.

"What. Did. You. DO!"

"You were going to evolve it anyway!" Jessie argued, her face turning red.

The Meowth hybrid dropped its prize at her feet. Without thinking, Fiora picked up the stone and threw. It struck a nearby lab station, sending a tray of beakers crashing to the ground in a shower of glass. "Of course I was! _After_ I earned its trust. _After_ I convinced it evolution was greatest darn thing to happen to Pokémon since Z-powers! I _wasn't_ going to pin it down and force it to evolve against its will! Seriously! _What is wrong with you two?!"_

"Easy, Fiora," a timid voice spoke up from somewhere on the floor. Fiora glanced down to see the hybrid's Vaporeon-like tail brush against her leg. "You'll get sick if you keep yellin' like that."

"Whose side are you on, Meowth?" Jessie snapped. The hybrid shrank back and gritted its teeth.

"Forcin' a Pokémon to evolve… even the twerp's Pokémon…" It shook its head, eyes glistening with tears. "You got a clue what that feels like?!"

"Meowth, please, we're sorry!" James attempted, for what little good that would do now.

"My name ain't Meowth no more." The hybrid lowered its head and crept back to the shadows of some nearby tables.

"Get out of my lab!" Fiora roared. "Both of you! Get out! NOW!"

They went, faster then Fiora had ever seen them move. She stood for a long moment just staring after them. Then the exertion finally caught up with her and she had to lean back against the lab table.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," she said through heavy breaths. "I know they were your friends once."

"Yeah." The little hybrid hung its head. "Once."

She glanced back over her shoulder to the room that held the sleeping Raichu. "And I'm sorry for you too, little one. You didn't deserve this." Her chest spasmed, and she started to cough again. Absol and the hybrid nudged over a stool for her and she sat gratefully, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Thanks, guys," she said. Out of reflex, she reached down to pat Absol's head. She yanked her hand away when her first stroke left a smudge of red on its fur.

"Hey Fiora… you're bleedin'!" the hybrid said, face filled with worry. Absol was already in rescue mode, bounding across the lab to smack on the emergency intercom with his nose.

"I'm fine," she tried to call after it. When that failed, she tried to stand, anything to keep Absol from overreacting and alerting the entire building. "Really. I just need to rest a mo–"

Then her legs gave out.


	5. Revelation

Delia's son was a fighter, Giovanni would give him that. His two friends, former gym leaders, of all people, just needed a few weapons waved in their faces and they fell into line easily. Ash seemed to either be oblivious to what a gun was, an idiot who didn't care, or a psychic who knew there was no way Giovanni would order anyone on Team Rocket to harm him. In fact, quite the opposite.

Giovanni laid his hand on a manila envelope that had been brought to his desk only moments before. At the same time, two Rocket grunts escorted Ash into the room. He shoved them away as soon as they reached Giovanni's desk and glared at Giovanni with a fierce passion. "Why did you bring me in here?"

Right to the point. That was Delia, all right. Giovanni said nothing, merely pushed the envelope forward. He'd read its contents already, of course, and the results it contained did not shock him. As soon as he'd heard Delia's name, he'd had his suspicions. Only now he could back up those suspicions with facts.

Ash looked down at the envelope. At least he wasn't yelling anymore. "What's this?" he asked cautiously.

"Why don't you open it?" Giovanni said. "I think it speaks for itself."

Ash picked up the envelope cautiously, undoing the red thread that held it shut and slowly pulling out the papers inside. His eyes flew over the words quickly at first, then slowed as he re-read them once... twice... three times.

Ash's hands started to shake. "Wh-what is this?" he asked again.

"I presume you can read," Giovanni replied, hands folded. "But in case you missed the rather obvious logo on the upper-right corner and the self-explanatory heading on the paper, these are the results of a DNA test I had conducted, using a sample of my own hair and a sample of yours."

Ash slammed the table. "When did you get a sample of-"

"Stray hair from that disgusting hat I had you remove, of course," Giovanni replied. "But the source hardly matters, does it? The results are more important."

Ash gritted his teeth. It was almost cute how his young mind worked, coming at the situation with denial from every possible angle, even when the truth was written out in black and white before him. "This can't be right..." he said. "You can't be-"

"Oh, please, don't initiate any melodrama," Giovanni said, waving him off. "Yes, I can be your father. I dated your mother for quite some time. Furthermore, I am your father, as evidenced by the results you're holding in your hands. The only question remains is what this means for Team Rocket." He pulled back the envelope, filing it away in a drawer. Ash lowered his head, his whole body now quivering. He was either starting to cry or holding back a maniacal laugh. Rather difficult to discern the difference.

"And here I thought I was special," he said, voice cracking. "Here I thought, 'wow, I must be some amazing trainer that the head of Team Rocket is after me.'"

"Oh, you're special, all right," Giovanni assured him. "Believe me, boy, I've got big plans for you. But you'll find out about those later." He waved at the grunt standing in the shadows. "We're done here. You may escort my son to his room."

#

Pierce stood outside the little windowed hospital room in a daze, only half listening as the head of the department rambled on about all the medical tests they had preformed on his friend and the results of said tests. Like any of that would make him feel better. Fiora was still unconscious. Still hooked up to a mess of tubes and beeping machines. And he was still not allowed inside to visit her.

"How long until she recovers?" he asked, which made the doctor's brow furrow. The he cleared his throat nervously. Not a good sign.

"I'm afraid the illness has spread to her lungs..."

Pierce made a show of nodding, but inside he was still trying to will himself to comprehend what the doctor was telling him. He stared unblinking through the glass. Really seeing his friend this time and how pale and thin she had become even in just these past months. He clenched his fists, silently cursing himself. If he had just paid more attention. Made her take things slower...

Blast it! How could he not have seen...? Or maybe he had and he just didn't want to admit it. Now, though, he didn't really have much choice. Fiora didn't have much time left, and there wasn't anything he could do.

The doctor was still talking, muttering softly about contacting family and sorting out affairs.

"She doesn't have any family," he began only to remember that wasn't entirely true. Technically, her parents were both still out there. If one could call them that. "None worth contacting, at least," he amended. Then he swallowed, feeling an unwelcome catch in his throat. "You will call me immediately when she wakes up. Do you understand?"

The doctor started to hesitate, but Pierce held up a hand. He wasn't even going to consider the alternative - that their stupid fight would be the last time he ever spoke to her.

"Do. You. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." The doctor bowed. "Of course."

Pierce turned briskly and started down the hall towards the elevators, his stomach coiling tighter with each step. Soon his fists were tightening, too.

This was Jessie and James's fault. If it wasn't for their sheer stupidity, Fiora never would have pushed herself so hard. He brought up his fist, driving it into the wall.

The boss had demoted them to janitors for disobeying his orders and ruining his new Pikachu. But still, it didn't feel like enough. He wanted them to suffer like his friend was suffering. Was that in bad taste? Perhaps a little. But Fiora would do the same for him.

The elevator arrived and he stepped in, massaging his wrist. He just needed to be patient. This was Team Rock, after all. If there was ever a place for revenge opportunities to present themselves, this was it. He just had to keep his head and be patient...

#

The moment he stepped into his office a few minutes later, Pierce was being swarmed by a flurry of research techs with arm loads of paper, plus one very excited geneticist. Any other day he'd be thrilled to see this kind of enthusiasm. But today...

"Report," he ordered.

The geneticist cleared her throat, signaling her techs to plant their stacks of data on his desk one by one.

"It's about Project Merger sir," she began, her eyes twinkling. "We've done it. We've perfected the serum."

Pierce arched his eyebrows. "You've tested it?"

"Of course," the woman smiled, then handwaved. "Though only on a few grunts. And only about about ten percent exposure." She edged a particular stack of papers towards him. "As you'll see, the results have been quite positive."

Pierce skimmed through a few sheets, catching glimpses of test subjects who, with the exception of some random new skills and hair color changes, still looked healthy, happy, and very much human.

"So this is what a human-Pokémon hybrid looks like..." He cracked his mouth. "I don't see much difference, do you?"

"Not at such a low exposure. But if we upped the serum dose, in theory, that should alter a larger percentage of the subject's DNA from human to Pokémon after contact with the radiation from a mega evolution stone."

Pierce flopped the papers down, sat back in his chair, trying to massage away the start of a migraine.

"I asked for results, not theories. Can you get them or not?"

The woman slid up her glasses with a finger. "Naturally. Though we're still looking for more volunteers. Sadly, not everyone in the organization is as open minded about getting their DNA re-arranged for the good of science." She sighed. "Such a pity."

Pierce scratched his chin. So they were out of volunteers, were they? Well, that would have to be fixed.

"Don't bother looking too hard," he said with a slow smile. "I know just the two agents you can use."

#

Sabrina awoke in the middle of the night. She almost cried out, but of course, that would have been melodramatic at best and downright embarrassing at worst. Besides, there was nothing anyone could do to comfort her. When the visions came, she simply had to accept them as fact.

This time, she had seen herself speaking to a Pokémon... and understanding its words. The creature had been in the shadows, canine in nature, but she'd been unable to make out the exact species for sure. It had spoken of a warning. There would be a lot of power coming into the world of humans in short order... tipped too much towards the wrong person, and it could spell disaster.

Who is the wrong person, though? Sabrina thought to herself. She could rule out the possibility that she was seeing a warning about herself. Then again, she knew quite a few others among Kanto even more power-hungry than that...

"Haunter, Haunter..." murmured the ghost Pokémon as it curiously slipped through her walls, anxious to see why its diurnal mistress was awake at this time of night.

Sabrina stroked Haunter under its chin. "It appears things are moving faster than I first thought," she said. "I need to make some phone calls to the other gym leaders tomorrow."

"Haunt, haunt," Haunter agreed. Though when chin-scratches were involved, it tended to agree with anything.

#

James had made it a point in life to never get involved with things that were over his head. His parents tried to hand him a whole lot of responsibility (and money, yes, but mostly responsibility), and he ran away form it as fast as he possibly could. Joining Team Rocket had always seemed to him like a fun, rebellious adventure. But now, it seemed, he was in over his head yet again. Currently, he was strapped down to a table with Pierce standing over him, looking a mix of delighted and deranged.

"All right," Pierce began. "You wanted to know what's going on in our labs? You wanted to be useful to Team Rocket? Well, I'm going to offer the two of you a brilliant opportunity." He turned away from the table and James tried to sit up; maybe the restraints were just for show... but they held fast. A bead of sweat ran down his head. All around him was a scene straight out of a horror movie. Scientists moved about, their expressions covered by goggles and face masks. Various strange liquids bubbled and shifted in tubes and beakers. Then, of course, there were two syringes sitting on a tray, with said tray resting precariously close to where Jessie and James were strapped down.

"Um, while I'm all for the whole being useful to Team Rocket thing," James said shakily. "I can't say that I had any particular desire to know what's going on down here. You can, um... continue your creepy experiments and we won't bother you at all."

"I want to know what happened to Meowth!" Jessie piped up. The two young men stared at her in surprise. She took in their gazes and when she seemed to realize that she had voiced actual concern for something, she quickly recovered herself. "I mean, really... water Pokémon are supposed to look elegant. That's not elegant at all. And Meowth hates water, besides. What an uninspired design."

Meowth, who had been standing beside Pierce, curled its nose up a bit at this, but didn't say anything. Pierce gave the Pokémon a cursory glance, as if he'd quite forgotten what it actually did look like. "Team Rocket, unbeknownst to you two idiots, has been doing extensive research into stone-induced evolution. Too long we've simply accepted that certain Pokémon evolve with stones and others do not. We have been developing a serum that can make Pokémon that had no reaction to stones before take on an entirely knew form." He held his open hand proudly towards Meowth. "Your little sidekick was one of our first experiments. Its ability to speak human language made analyzing our results much simpler." Meowth lowered its head and slunk farther back until it was under one of the tables.

"I-it looks a little like a Vaporeon," James observed.

"I agree," Pierce said. "Not surprising. The basis for the serum is based largely on the DNA of Eevee. After all, if you're going to force previously impossible evolutions, the makeup of the evolution Pokémon provides an excellent starting point." He signaled to a scientist, who brought over the tray with the two long, thin syringes on it. "We've improved it considerably since then, of course. After all, we were less interested in getting a reaction from an elemental stone and much more interested in getting a reaction from a Mega Stone."

The scientist bowed. "Whenever you're ready, sir."

Pierce looked them over, not like he was analyzing his teammates, but more like he was assessing the value of some cheap merchandise. "Use the Manectite on this one," he said, nodding towards James. "The Blazikenite on the other."


	6. Giovanni's Offer

Giovanni summoned Ash to his office a few days later. When the boy came, Giovanni noted he did not have the level of energy he had before. Oh, there was anger there, no doubt, but it was well-buried beneath a layer of hopelessness. The boy hated his situation and yet saw no way out of it. Well, that would certainly not do for Giovanni's purposes. This boy had potential, and lots of it. It was simply up to Giovanni to mold that potential. First, he had to give him a goal.

"Please, sit," he said, motioning to the chair in front of his desk. Ash sat, head down. He had his hat back now, although he chose to clutch it in his hands rather than wear it.

"I must confess," Giovanni began. "You do not seem to truly appreciate this little revelation. You are, by all technical accounts, the heir of Team Rocket, its rightful next leader. Yet you seem to lack the... disposition to take on such a task."

This seemed to bolster enough energy in the boy to at least get him to look Giovanni in the eye. "Your whole organization exists to exploit Pokémon!" he snapped. "It's evil!"

"Ah, yes. See, that is the type of attitude I fear may hinder our progress here," Giovanni said. "But there is time for improvement."

"I don't care if you keep me here for a hundred years," Ash said (the boy had a flare for melodrama, it seemed). "No amount of time is going to change my feelings."

"So you're saying you have no interest in running Team Rocket someday?" Giovanni asked.

"No!" Ash said. He was started to sound exasperated, as if Giovanni was willfully misunderstanding him. He was not completely wrong.

"Really? Because you seem to feel very strongly about this organization. One would think that given the opportunity to run it in anyway you choose, that you might be more interested in taking said opportunity."

Ash straightened a bit. "Run it... anyway I choose?" he asked cautiously. "As in, I could dismantle it?"

"If that happened to be your decision when you took charge, yes."

"And when would you see me... um, taking charge?" Ash's internal debate was almost amusing now. He clearly detested the idea of having anything to do with Team Rocket, and yet the image in his head of having the ability to take it down was far too great a temptation.

Giovanni leaned forward, resting his chin on his folded hands. "Three years. You work under me for three years. You do not argue with my decisions. You do not attempt to dissuade me from any course of action nor do you undermine any of my plans. I will consider you my apprentice during that time and teach you everything you need to know to lead Team Rocket." He reached an open hand forward. The boy almost took his offer right then and there, but pulled his hand back, still locked in debate with himself. Giovanni showed no emotion either way. He would not have come as far as he had in life by letting his personal feelings on any matter get the better of him. But still he was acutely aware of his own mortality. Perhaps it was the presence of Agent Fiora and her advancing weakness that brought it out in him. But the idea of ending his days with absolutely no legacy... it terrified him, more so than any financial loss he could suffer. His father and grandfather and many generations before them had always worked the underworld to their advantage, passed their secrets onto their children. Would he be the first to fail in that line? Give the power of Team Rocket to some nobody. Some employee? No, Giovanni would not allow it. His attempts to sway Silver had failed. But this boy was different. He had a passion for Pokémon unlike any Giovanni had ever seen. Passion to the point of stupidity. If Giovanni could convert that energy into a passion for power, for control... this boy would be the spitting image of him and carry on his legacy.

"Why are you doing this?" Ash finally asked.

"Why? Because I cannot run Team Rocket on my own forever. Because I trust family above all else. Because my only other child has abandoned me." None of them were outright lies. In fact, only the second reason had been anything resembling a lie. Giovanni was getting downright honest in his old age. "But most of all," he continued, "because I believe that in the three years I have to train you, I can change your attitude about the organization completely. I am so confident in my skills to do this in fact, there is not a shred of doubt in my mind. In three years, my dear boy, you will be everything I am. Perhaps even more."

"I'll never be like you," Ash growled. "The second you give me control of this place, I'll tear it down."

Here Giovanni allowed himself a bit of a smile. Determination. That was exactly what he needed. With all the resources at his disposal, he could easily redirect Ash's energy. He couldn't energize a person who had no ambition to begin with.

"Then you're accepting my offer?" Giovanni asked.

Ash barely hesitated. "You bet I am."

Giovanni revealed a full-out grin, taking Ash's hand and shaking it vigorously. "Excellent. We'll get the paperwork drawn up right away then." He snapped his fingers. The Persian that had been nodding off at his feet lifted her head. Without the need for any other signal from him, she stood and walked over to the filing cabinet in the corner of Giovanni's office. With a deep purr, it gripped the handle in its mouth, pulled the drawer open, and then pulled out a manila folder, which she walked back over to Giovanni. Giovanni took it and patted the beast on the head, afterwards she laid back down at his feet. Never trust a human to handle important paperwork, after all. There were some things that only a Pokémon could be trusted with. Giovanni opened the folder, fished out a pen from his pocket, and handed it to Ash. He then opened the folder, pulled out the single sheet of paper, and pushed it forward.

"Feel free to read over it," he said. "Take as much time as you need."

Ash gripped the pen in his hand. "No, thank you," he said. Then he leaned over and signed his name on the line where Giovanni had indicated. Giovanni took the pen and paper himself and signed his own name underneath it. He then placed it back in the folder and whistled for his Persian to return the item to its place in the cabinet. The Pokémon did so without complaint.

"Well," Giovanni began as the Persian came to rest as his feet once more, "as your paperwork states, you'll be starting in this organization with the rank of an Executive. This means that you can command any of my grunts or scientists as you will. The exception of course being that you cannot ask them to disobey any order from me, nor would I expect you to issue any commands that undermine Team Rocket's general objectives."

"I don't plan on giving commands to anybody," Ash said firmly.

The half smile that Giovanni had been wearing this whole time faded just a bit. "I see we shall have to work on your willingness to take control. You command Pokémon all the time, boy. You will find people are not so different." He leaned back in his chair, trying to release some of the tension in his neck. This was quite a challenge he had just undertaken. But like any challenge, he was more than prepared for it. He motioned Ash away. "Agent Pierce will get you your new uniform. And I believe Agent Fiora has a Pokémon to return to you."

Ash looked hopeful at these words, possibility for the first time since Giovanni had seen him. "My Pikachu?" he asked.

Giovanni rubbed his chin for a moment. He had seen the evolved Pokémon that insisted on saying its old name. What was the proper term for such a creature? Mutant? Defect? Or maybe the name Fiora used. Hybrid. Yes, that sounded classier. "Ahem. Yes, your Pikachu," he finally said. "Tell me, why did you not evolve your Pokémon? It is clearly at a high enough level that it has learned all the attacks exclusive to its Pikachu form."

Ash looked at Giovanni, almost with an expression of confusion. "It doesn't want to evolve," he said, like it was the most obvious reason in the world. Giovanni nodded. This would be an interesting turn of events, then.

"I see," he said, and waved a dismissive hand again. The door to his office opened, and at the press of a button, Agent Pierce appeared in the doorway. There was an awkward silence as he and Ash stood staring at each other, both expecting the other to move first it seemed. Giovanni rolled his eyes and coughed loudly.

"My son has accepted his role in this organization," he said to Pierce. "He'll need his uniform and his Pokémon. Please take care of it."

Pierce's eyes went wide at Giovanni's words, but he collected himself quickly and bowed to Ash. "Of course. This way, sir."

Giovanni got the impression that Ash had never been called "sir" a day in his life, as he followed after Pierce with none of the confidence a leader ought to have. But that would all come in time. Giovanni would make certain of it.

#

The Rocket leading Ash away was worried about something; it was written all over his face. Ash guessed at first that it had to do with him. Every member of Team Rocket had to think their esteemed leader was a bit nuts right now, letting someone who'd battled against their organization for years suddenly have a place in it. But the more Ash followed Pierce around, the more he suspected Pierce's concerns had nothing to do with him. Pierce was completely distracted as he walked Ash down the hallways, taking a wrong turn more than once, and then when he went to give Ash a uniform, he first pulled out the same style that James wore, in a size that looked like it would swallow Ash whole.

"Um... I'm not sure that's quite right," Ash said.

Pierce looked at the uniform in his hand as if he were confused how it even got there to begin with.

"Oh. Yes. My apologies, sir," he said, then went rummaging back through the oversized metal crate that he had pulled the uniform from to begin with. "Executive, yes?" He pulled out a uniform that didn't look so dissimilar from the previous one, but without the black gloves and a much smaller Rocket logo up near the shoulder, rather than an oversized R written across the chest. "This should be sufficient," Pierce said at last, closing and locking the crate with a key card on his belt. He glanced between the key and Ash for a moment.

"You'll have to forgive me, but I'm not sure what level of permissions the boss has given you. I'll make sure you're issued your own badge key when I have that information confirmed."

"Oh, um... that's okay," Ash said nervously, as he continued to follow Pierce down the hallway. The guy led him back to the same room Ash had as before. Only this time when he went to try the door, it was already unlocked, and he seemed to have no intention of locking Ash back in again.

Something buzzed as the door swung open. Pierce checked his belt; it looked like his cell phone had started blinking. The man checked whatever message had come up, and his face went pale. "Already? I told them to let me know before-"

He gritted his teeth, shaking his head with effort as he faced Ash once again. "I apologize, sir. Agent Fiora has taken ill, it seems, and she is the one holding your Pokémon at the moment. I'll have to go retrieve them myself."

"Is... she okay?" Ash asked nervously. If he remembered correctly, Fiora was that girl who had looked really sick and frail when they first saw her. And it seemed like Pierce was genuinely worried about her. As much as Ash wanted to see Pikachu again, he at least knew Pikachu was safe. It didn't sound like the same could be said about Fiora.

"She... she will be fine," Pierce said with effort. "It's... nothing you need concern yourself with, sir."

He was barely getting his words out straight. Ash might not have been very good at reading people, but he knew how it felt to be worried about someone important. He'd been feeling that way this whole time about Brock and Misty. And about Pikachu.

"Hey, um... if you need to go see her, you should go do that."

Pierce looked at him in shock. "I... appreciate it," he said. "But I was ordered to attend to you."

Attend to me? What do I need attending for? Ash tightened his fists. There had to be a way around this. "I'm... um, I'm ordering you to do that?" he tried. Then he remembered what Giovanni had said about contradicting him and added on, "You can bring me my Pikachu afterwards."

A wave of relief passed over Pierce's face. He didn't look grateful, per se, but he bowed deeply before he turned away from the door. "I'll do that, then. Thank you, sir." With that, he took off, practically running down the hall.

#

The equipment didn't bother Fiora anymore. Not like it used to. Maybe because she didn't have the strength to fight it this time. The IVs that bit under her skin were now pumping her full of wonderful painkillers. The tug of the oxygen tube taped annoyingly to her face was actually helping her breathe easier. Even the constant beeps and tones from the instruments were soothing background noise now.

She had nearly started to doze again when Pierce's voice drifted in above her, saying her name. Fiora worked open heavy eyes and found him sitting beside her bed, gazing over her, his face full of worry. The last time he looked that awful was when he had stressed over a big project and hadn't slept for a week straight.

I couldn't have been out that long, could I?

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied. It was hard to talk. Her throat was so dry now. But if she didn't say something, she might not get another chance. "I'm sorry we fought."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, it was my fault," Pierce said. He sounded almost tender too. Or maybe that was just her wishful thinking.

Crap, am I dwelling on regrets now? The stupid drugs must have been making her loopy. Well, at least it was a short list.

Fiora regretted never having the chance to train her own Pokémon.

She regretted never letting herself know love.

But most of all she regretted every moment she had ever let herself feel weak.

She couldn't do much about the first two, not even back when she was at full strength. Caring for a Pokémon, or a person for that matter, would have been too cruel to the others involved. But weakness... now there was something she could still fight.

"Fiora," said Pierce, more serious now. "There's something I need to show you-"

She held up a shaking hand, barely managing to make the "shhh" signal. "First, I need you to promise-" She licked her dry lips.

"What?" Pierce prompted.

She sucked in a breath, speaking without weakness. Without fear. "After I go, I want you to put me to rest on top of Mount Silver. I heard it's beautiful there and I've always wanted to go, but never got the chance. Will you do that?"

His mouth cracked with a deep frown. "That's just it, Fiora. I think I have a way to save you."

Fiora sighed. He really was a sentimental fool. Any other time she would have rolled her eyes. Or whacked him upside the head. But today she let him have a rare, affectionate smile. "You already saved me, remember?"

"No, Fiora," he shook his head, "I'm talking about a cure."

Why was he making this so hard? After she had told him a hundred times not to get attached, he still didn't listen. He really was a fool. A stupid, sentimental fool. Funny, in another life she might even have loved him for it, too. In another life...

"Fiora?"

"Hm?" She jerked awake. "Wh... wasn't sleeping..."

"I need you to focus. This is important."

"I'm focused."

He reached aside and pulled out a binder. "It's Project Merger. The one I've spent the last six years supervising."

"The one you can never talk about," she nodded weakly. "The reason I have a bunch of hybrids in iso."

"We've had a breakthrough. Only this time with human experimentation." He flipped open a page in his binder to reveal two personal photos that looked somewhat like Jessie and James only not quite. Jessie was downright masculine with a boyish figure, muscled arms, abs, and legs. James sported a new, spiked-up hairdo of his normal electric blue tipped with bright yellow.

"Is that... Diva and Dunce...?"

"Now with twenty percent Pokémon DNA."

Fiora blinked at him, the pieces finally coming together in her mind. "And you think if I get a merger, the Pokémon genes will cancel out my crap ones and cure me?"

"If the procedure is successful, then yes."

"And if it isn't?"

Pierce glanced down. "I'm not sure. All the other subjects we used were healthy..."

"In other words, it will kill me horribly." She snorted a laugh, which turned into a coughing fit that left her dizzy and exhausted. "Drat. I knew there had to be a catch."

Pierce didn't look amused. "It's up to you, Fiora. I won't try and push you either way. I just wanted you to know all the options." He left the binder on her bed and stood, hesitated, then started to turn towards the door. "Do you want some time alone to think?" he asked.

Fiora flipped the binder closed with a thump. "Nope. You pretty much had me at 'cure.'"

He opened the door with a small smile, ushering in a team of nurses who had apparently been waiting on standby.

"I had a feeling you'd say that."


	7. Rebirth

**Mergers, Chapter 8**

 _a/n: Sorry for the delay, everyone! Rowan and I were working on an original project together. It's pretty much complete now, so we'll be back on our normal every-other-week schedule._

"Pika-pi," Pikachu whined as it walked along the hallway. Or... was "Raichu" more accurate? Meowth shrugged. He didn't even know what he himself wanted to be called, so far be it for him to criticize the electric rodent.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu said, more demanding this time.

"Yeah, yeah, you wanna see your friend, I know," Meowth muttered. "But this place ain't as easy to navigate as you think it is..."

He turned a corner, finally happy to see it looked familiar. This was where the grunts he'd overheard said the boss's kid would be staying.

The boss's kid... still can't believe it... how many times did we put the twerp in danger? Are we just lucky none of those plans actually worked?

Meowth shook its head. It wasn't worth thinking about. "We'll need to get back soon, before Fiora notices we're missing," he said.

Pika-Raichu nodded. Then it toddled up to the closed door and knocked three times with its long tail.

The door cracked open. The twerp had dressed differently now, all decked out in full Team Rocket executive attire. It actually made him look like the teenager he was instead of the dopey kid he still acted like. Meowth slunk back off to the shadows, not caring to have a conversation, which would most likely end in the twerp accusing him of forcing Pikachu's evolution, anyway.

"Hello?" Ash looked down in confusion at the Raichu now standing there. His Pokémon's eyes lit up with happiness.

"Pika-pi!" Pika-Raichu exclaimed. "Pika-pi! Pika-pi!"

Meowth missed whatever Ash said after that. But he did see the human dropping down to his knees and hugging the electric rodent. So... he had to believe that something had gone right.

#

"You're going to feel a little pinch," the head technician said in her sing-song voice. Fiora never understood the point of the niceites even growing up. Pain was pain, no matter how flowery and sweet the medical staff tried to make it sound.

Annoying nurses. Definitely not something I'm going to miss in my next life. If she lived, that is.

Pierce touched her shoulder lightly, just for a moment, before stepping aside and out of the tech's way. He had insisted on being there with her. Even though she had told him she didn't need him coddling her and holding her hand. She hated when people did that and he knew it. Still, some part of her was still glad he hadn't listened. At least now she wouldn't be alone if the merger failed.

"It will be okay, Pierce." She tried to sound reassuring, more for his sake then hers. Death didn't scare her. She had been preparing for it her entire life. It was the idea of living she didn't know how to process. She never saw that coming. And certainly not as some half-Pokémon freak of nature.

Well, it's not the first time I sacrificed something important to get what I want. She had given up her morality, and the last few years of her freedom to gain independence from her so-called family. Handing over her humanity seemed like a small price to pay if the reward was a long and healthy life.

The technician slid a needle into her arm, and Fiora grit her teeth as the "little pinch" turned into a rush of liquid ice through her veins. She breathed through the pain as she watched the tech hurry about her, checking monitors, recording vitals, adjusting her IV. All the usual nursing stuff. When she was finally convinced Fiora wasn't going to flat-line on her right then and there, the tech reached across the procedure table and fastened a leather restraint around Fiora's feet.

"Is that really necessary?" Pierce protested.

But Fiora just snorted in delighted amusement. "What the heck are you merging me with, anyway? Raquaza?"

The tech returned her smile. "Actually, the boss left it up to you to decide that."

"Oh." Well, that was an interesting twist, now wasn't it? The doctors letting her decide how her treatment should go. While the head tech fitted a second restraint around Fiora's shoulders, the doctor arrived and brought over a tray with the glittery mega evolution stones Fiora had used years back to buy her way into Team Rocket. Funny, they seemed even more precious and beautiful now. As her eyes traced over each stone she found herself forming a mental picture of the Pokémon they belonged to. She flipped through them in her mind like pages in a book, recalling stats and traits, quirks and hidden abilities and all the other sciency stuff she had memorized as a young trainer-wannabe. Before her mother had crushed her dream.

So many possibilities. Only one choice. She had to make it carefully. Like a new trainer selecting their first Pokémon. What traits and abilities would best suit her? Something powerful. Yes. That was a must. She would never go back to being weak. But what kind of power? If there was one thing the boss had taught her, it was that brutish size and fancy weapons weren't the only way to be powerful. Building a reputation, exploiting others weaknesses and fears-these were their own kind of power.

She squinted at the stones again, narrowing down her choice to six-all Pokémon who relied on their own strength from the moment they hatched. From these her choice was easy.

"I choose Absol," she said.

Pierce raised his eyebrows. "Really? A dark type? Are you sure?"

Fiora nodded curtly. "Absol doesn't need to evolve, doesn't need help to be powerful. It's strong on its own. Plus it's the disaster Pokémon. Which, let's face it, pretty much sums up most of my life." She tried to smile at that last part and the rather amusing irony.

"I think it suits," added the tech with an approving nod.

Pierce frowned and turned his face away. She gripped his hand in hers as the doctor leaned over her, Absolite at the ready.

Time to go.

She closed her eyes, flinching when the Absolite's cool surface touched her neck. Strange. The stone seemed to be humming. Fiora concentrated on the sound, letting it fill her up until she could feel it in her bones. At her neck, the cool stone started to heat. The feeling of warmth resonated from sunny day pleasantness, to will-o-wisp annoyance, then on to flamethrower levels of searing. She tried to move away, but found her arms and legs tied down. She was trapped.

Panic spiked in her. The memory of an inescapable room, as lavishly decorated as a museum exhibit. A sanctuary that had become a prison and had nearly been her tomb.

"No!" she screamed. "Let me go! Let me out! I can't-" she couldn't breathe. Every gasp sent rivulets of fire coursing through her chest. In the background she was vaguely aware of the blaring alarms and scurrying bodies. The tech's voice snapped "we're losing her!"

Then, slowly, the fire subsided. The noises faded into quiet. Her body was light as air. Not hers at all. When she opened her eyes she was running through the mountains on four powerful legs. The planet's currents tingled through her scalp and into her core.

Far away she thought she felt pressure on her hand. A soft voice registered. "No. You can't. Not yet."

Pierce? That sentimental fool.

Her scalp tingled again and suddenly she saw him before her. His body was hunched over, his face sullen as he alone set flowers on her grave. She saw her Pokémon friend, Raven, cooped in a filthy cage. And other Pokémon she knew, ragged and hungry and full of pent rage. All her hard work, her life's work to build them a safe place and keep them happy, passed off and forgotten as easily as she was.

No! That was unacceptable!

Fury seized her, willing her heart to throb, flutter, then throb again faster. Her chest spasmed as her mouth opened and drew in a huge gasp of air. Her eyes flew open, huge and wild. Faces came into focus all around her. A dozen at least, all medics except one. Pierce still had a hold of her hand.

She met his eye, and saw surprise and shock flit across his face for half a heartbeat before dissolving in to relief.

"Welcome back," he said. "You had me worried there for a minute."

She felt herself smile, too tired to think up some sort of snarly reply. Tomorrow maybe. Yes. She let her eyes sink closed and her spirits soar. Tomorrow was a new day. The start of the rest of her life.

#

Ash stormed into Giovanni's office. Giovanni looked up, almost amused, as if he'd been expecting Ash to come barging in any second.

"May I help you?" he asked, setting his pen down on top of his paperwork.

Ash gritted his teeth. "You didn't tell me you evolved Pikachu!" he said. He closed his eyes, wincing at the memory of Pikachu's face. It had seemed so lost and confused, like it didn't quite understand why it had to deal with this new body, why the process couldn't be reversed, why its best friend hadn't been there to stop it in the first place.

"Technically speaking, I did not evolve your Pokémon," Giovanni said. "That little incident was caused by two of your subordinates. I believe you know Jessie and James quite well?"

Ash opened his eyes in surprise at the names. He knew Jessie and James would do anything to get their hands on Pikachu, of course. But at the end of the day, forcing it into an evolution against its will, didn't seem like the type of thing even they were capable of.

"A Pokémon should never be evolved if it doesn't want to," he insisted, clenching his fists so tight, his fingers ached.

Giovanni frowned at the suggestion.

"A Pokémon should do whatever pleases its owner," he said. Then he stood up from his desk. "If you feel otherwise, then this is a serious detriment to my ability to mentor you. Come with me, young man. We need to have a discussion."

He headed for the door. Even though Ash was still steaming with rage, there was now a certain amount of confusion to accompany it. "Um, aren't we having a discussion right now?"

"A fair point. But I don't think the location suits my needs. Follow me down the hall, if you will." And with that, he motioned Ash out of the door.

#

The room that Giovanni took Ash to was almost pitch black inside. In fact, the only light in the place came from the sliver of light at the base of the door. Giovanni had Ash sit in a metal folding chair. He himself sat in an identical chair across from Ash.

Whatever's going on here, I'm pretty sure he's not going to hurt me, Ash thought. He certainly couldn't think of Giovanni as his father. Not now, at any rate.

There was a breeze of cold air that sent the hairs on the back of Ash's neck standing up. he didn't know why, but he got the distinct sensation that they weren't alone in the room.

"Now," Giovanni said. "Why don't you repeat to me again what's upsetting you so badly."

"I already told you!" Ash said, more than a little annoyed. "You evolved my Pikachu!" He felt a slight headache as he said it, but then the sensation passed. he thought nothing of it.

"I see," Giovanni said calmly. "And tell me, why does this action make you so upset?"

What was wrong with this guy? Did he want Ash to repeat everything upsetting him just for his own amusement? The headache seemed to be coming back on. "Because a Pokémon should never be evolved against its will!" Ash snapped.

Just then, the the dull ache in the back of his head blasted out in full force, like a dam of pain being released. Only, instead of a blaze, this pain felt more like icicles shooting through his brain. He heard a soft laugh behind him. Not a human laugh, though. He had been right when they entered. He and Giovanni weren't alone here. Specifically, they had some kind of Pokémon with them.

"You shouldn't let Pokémon evolution get to you so much," Giovanni continued. "Pokémon exist to serve humans, after all. It is our decision whether they evolve or not."

"That's not true," Ash yelled again, and the pain came back anew. It felt as it were attacking the depths of his mind right where his anger and fury lay. The laugh sounded again, and this time, Ash actually felt something ice cold brush against his arm and shoulders. There were ghost Pokémon in this room, he had no doubt about it. And one of them was using its powers on him.

"The more you let yourself get worked up about this, the more painful it is going to be," Giovanni said. "You are opening up your feelings too much... and certain Pokémon feed on those feelings like they are a delightful feast." He smiled wickedly. "Continue to struggle, and the Banette around you will not only consume your emotions, but your memories as well."

"That-that-" Ash struggled with the words. He wanted to say that was impossible, but the realm of ghost Pokémon was something he knew very little about. And he had seen Pokémon do amazing things before... create massive illusions, travel through time, turn a human statue into flesh and blood once again. There was nothing he would put past Pokémon's abilities to do.

But then... what should he do right now? Every time he thought about how furious Pikachu's forced evolution made him, the Pokémon at his back seemed to thrive on it. The pain in his head increased and he felt so cold, like his blood was freezing beneath his skin.

Experimentally, he shifted his thoughts. Tried to entertain the idea that Giovanni was right, that Pokémon were fine to evolve if their owners wanted it. It was like giving up a game of tug-of-war with an invisible monster, if the rope had been his thoughts.

Then, in an instant, he could no longer remember what he'd been having an argument about. Panic seized him. He'd come in here upset about something, something important. Then Giovanni had warned him that the ghost Pokémon could attack his emotions... or was it his memories? Things went fuzzy after that. Ash felt like he'd been knocked cold and woken up with no recollection as to who had attacked him.

Giovanni grinned and leaned forward; Ash heard the chair creak with the shift in weight. "You came in here with a Pikachu, am I correct?"

"I..." That sounded familiar. Yes, Ash did have a Pikachu. His first Pokémon. He had many good memories with it. A wave of relief went through him that whatever the ghost Pokémon around him had just done, they hadn't hurt his memories of his best friend.

"You were neglectful in taking so long to evolve it," Giovanni went on. "My staff have done so for you. I presume you do not object?"

Ash's first instinct was to say, yes, he did object. But he couldn't articulate why. Pikachu always strived to be the strongest Pokémon it could. So naturally evolution made perfect sense... didn't it?

With no better answer that he could think of, Ash shook his head dumbly and said, "No, I... I don't think I object."

This reply only seemed to amuse Giovanni more. His expression was impossible to make out well in the dark, but Ash would have sworn he heard the man chuckle under his breath. "The most interesting thing about what happens when a Pokémon consumes your memories," he said. "Your mind becomes desperate to fill that gap with any information it can. How convenient that I am right here to provide such information. Don't you agree?"

Ash held his head. It didn't hurt, but he felt a strange numbness. "When those ghost Pokémon attack my memories, you can fill my head with any lies you want, and I'll believe them. They'll become like my new memories. That's it, isn't it?"

"Roughly speaking, yes," Giovanni replied. "You see, my boy, I never make a bargain unless I stand to gain from it. I ensure my victory in all things at all costs." He let out a chuckle again, then Ash heard him standing, followed by the rattle of the doorknob as his hand grasped it.

"You will never dismantle Team Rocket. Because by the time I am through with you, you will think exactly as I think. All that energy of yours will be properly directed to advancing Team Rocket. And your pathetic sentimentality over your Pokémon will be snuffed out." He turned the doorknob and light flooded the room. There was a hiss of disapproval from the Banettes as they retreated to the shadows in the corners of the room. Ash squinted as his eyes adjusted, his clothes smelled of sweat.

What had he gotten himself into here? And now that Giovanni had revealed his plan, was there anything he could do to get out?


	8. Aquafeles

Giovanni strode purposefully out of the elevator onto the medical floor and right up to the nurses' station.

"Status report," he barked. Behind the counter the Team Rocket doctor-he never did bother to learn the guy's name-nearly leapt out of his chair. Giovanni watched with growing impatience as the man fumbled for a clipboard and began paging through notes.

"Well, things were touch and go there for a moment... probably due to her previous medical condition. But you'll be glad to know Agent Fiora is stabilized and resting comfortably."

Giovanni massaged his temple. This is what he got for recruiting medical-school dropouts. He began again, this time adding edge to his voice. "Was the merger successful?"

The doctor hastily flipped through more pages. "Oh. Yes, sir. Her DNA stabilized at around forty percent infusion..."

Forty percent! That was double the original estimate. Giovanni felt a grin tug at his lips. "I'd like to see her."

The head tech stepped forward then. She actually had the nerve to try to block Giovanni's path. As if that would stop him. "I'm sorry, sir. But we're still performing a few coronation tests. Perhaps tomorrow..." An eyebrow twitch was all it took to change her tune. She cringed like a frightened baby Pokémon, stammering, "That is, I mean... of course, sir. Right this way."

He followed behind her, Persian pacing at his heels, into the heart of the medical wing. The place was bustling today. He hadn't seen this much activity since Jessie and James came back to Kanto. (How those two kept getting on the wrong end of explosions was still beyond him.)

When they arrived at the testing area, he almost collided with Agent Pierce, who was hurrying inside with a plate of sandwiches Giovanni was pretty sure weren't hospital regulation. Pierce almost dropped them on the floor in his haste to stand at attention. "Mr. Giovanni, boss. Sir. We weren't expecting you so soon."

"Is there a problem?"

"No, sir." Pierce frowned. Almost imperceptibly. But he wasn't stupid enough to open his mouth and argue. Instead he just moved aside like a good peon and let Giovanni open the door.

Agent Fiora was in fine spirits. Her cheery voice rang out before he had even finished turning the doorknob. "Hey, boss!"

Giovanni stepped inside, his eyes taking in the modified exercise equipment alongside the computer stations before finally settling on the teenager in blue cotton medical scrubs. To say he almost didn't recognize her was an understatement. The last time he had seen her, Fiora was sickly thin. She could hardly stand on her own, let alone run. The girl he saw now had a healthy layer of lean muscle on her bones. And she was sprinting on a wide treadmill alongside Pierce's Absol, matching the Pokémon speed for speed. When she saw him walk in the door, she grinned manically. Then, to the shock of the medical staff, she vaulted herself up and over the front of the machine, flipping gracefully before landing before them. "Come to see how your little experiment went?" She smiled at him through sheen of sweat. Absol bounded off the treadmill and came to join her, sitting as calmly by her side as Persian did for him. Seeing the two side by side, Giovanni could see hints of the Pokémon in her. Fiora's hair had changed, the left fall of her bangs now as white as Absol's fur. Her complexion had paled at least three shades lighter. And her eyes, once blue, were now a deep blood red.

"Very perceptive, agent," said Giovanni. "How did you know it was me?"

The girl shrugged as she accepted a towel from agent Pierce and dried off her face. "I had a hunch. Plus the splice job really amped up my senses. You, uh, might want to ease up on the cologne." She waved a hand lightly in front of her face, and Giovanni startled when he saw black, hooked, Absol claws on each of her fingers. Now that is interesting.

Her smile widened when she caught him looking. "Oh, yeah. Did I forget to mention I have claws now?" She flexed one hand, then, strolling closer, raked her talons along the steel-plate wall with an ear-piercing screeeeech leaving five long grooves. There were at least a dozen other marks there. The words "Fiora was here" and "Team Rocket Forever" were etched playfully with shallow cuts. But further down, the marks grew cleaner and deeper. Was that... a slash attack?

"The doctors aren't going to be happy if you keep marking up the walls," Pierce spoke up, taking the towel from her.

She blew on her newly sharpened claws. "So let them try and stop me."

Pierce rolled his eyes and presented her with the plate of homemade tamato-berry and egg sandwiches. She helped herself to one and tore off a huge bite.

"Per-rumm," said Persian, its nose twitching. It rubbed against Fiora's leg without invitation and was rewarded with a corner of sandwich and an affectionate scratch under the chin from Fiora's claws.

"Ab-sol-sol," answered Fiora.

Heightened senses. The ability to speak to Pokémon. Either one on its own was going to revolutionize the human race. But claws! Actual Pokémon claws that did actual Pokémon attacks! He stared at the marks on the wall. This went beyond anything he had ever imagined. And Agent Fiora was only forty percent Pokémon. What if someone was merged further than that? Much further. Until they were more Pokémon than human.

His thoughts raced. He wanted to test this. Now. But he knew none of the grunts would have the spine. Half his lackies couldn't even handle their own Pokémon as it was. They probably wouldn't know what to do with that kind of power. What he needed was a subject with actual skill. Someone like...

Nearby, Agent Fiora popped the last bite of her sandwich in her mouth. "Mmm... oo that's spicy. So seriously, boss. When can I get back to work?"

"How about now?"

"Great." Fiora took another sandwich from the plate as she looked over at her colleague. "Pierce, can you please go tell a certain pain-in-the-butt nurse I'm leaving whether she likes it or not because the boss himself is releasing me?" She smiled sweetly with every word.

A small sweat drop formed on Pierce's forehead. "Sure. I'll go tell her... some of that." He left the room, Absol at his heels. She wolfed down the second sandwich in a few big bites then bowed thanks to him.

He cleared his throat just as she was about to turn towards the door. "Actually, Agent, I have a new assignment for you. It's regarding my fellow gym leaders."

"Hmm?" She swallowed. "The ones you forced here against their will but didn't technically kidnap?"Her mouth twisted in a sly smile and she wiped it with a gowned sleeve. "Pretty gutsy move there, boss. You'll lose your gym once that little rumor gets to the Elite Four."

He snorted. "Which is why I want you to convince them to stay on here. As mergers. You can start with Misty."

Her eyebrows lifted. Her head tilting just so, like she was trying to see into him. It was a little unnerving actually with those red eyes. "Well, I guess I am sort of the poster child for 'merging is awesome.'" She drummed her claws on the wall like she was trying to think. "Granted, it's been a while since my aspiring-young-trainer-days... but if I recall, the Cerulean sisters are all obsessed with water Pokémon, and the youngest is notoriously obsessed with proving herself. That sound accurate?"

Giovanni nodded.

A smile slowly formed on Fiora's lips. "You know, there is that Meowth hybrid I've been working with. If you call Misty to the pool area under the pretense on getting her expert advice in water Pokémon training..."

"You can head there now."

"Yes, sir." She took two paces then turned about. "Oh, boss, one more thing. While we're on the topic of hybrids. I'd like to begin drawing up plans to expand the kennel and build a socialization area for the hybrids."

He blinked. Was he hearing things or did she just presume to start a project without his permission to his face? "Your mission is top priority, agent," he said, glaring at her with the full weight of his authority.

The girl bowed, but her voice was smooth and un-intimidated. "Yes, of course, sir. I didn't mean to suggest otherwise. But... well... I was also under the impression you wanted to actually battle with the hybrids someday, not just look at them. You won't be able to do that until they're tamed. And that won't happen if they don't get any interaction outside their cages."

She actually made a fair point, as much as he hated to admit it. He might even have praised her for taking imitative if she hadn't spoken out of turn. "Very well," he said carefully, eying her like a wild Pokémon he didn't quite trust. "I'll make the arrangements." He gestured to the door with a nod. "Now get to work."

Fiora bowed again, then was out the door in the blink of an eye.

Giovanni stared after her. No doubt about it. He was going to have to keep that one on a short leash. Just until he knew her loyalty hadn't been scrambled along with her DNA.

#

When Misty pictured the kind of place Team Rocket would hold their captive Pokémon, she always imagined stacks of cold metal cages. Or, in the case of the water types, cramped little aquariums stacked in rows in some badly lit room. She did not imagine Team Rocket would actually have a pool for their water types. Or that said pool room would be... not half bad. Though it lacked the fountains and waterfalls and other frills of her and her sisters' gym, the tiled floor was clean with plenty of basking places. There were buckets of toys and floaties for playful Pokémon entertainment. And the pool itself was clear and clean.

Kneeling near the edge, Misty experimentally dipped her fingers in the water. The temperature was ideal for ocean-based Pokémon and when she brought her fingers near her lips, she could taste the salt. She wasn't sure exactly why Team Rocket's grunts had brought her here-the most any of them had said was that their head caretaker needed her assistance in something. And while she was glad to know that wasn't some code phrase for attempting to drown her in the pool, she was curious as to what made them think she'd voluntarily help them with... well, anything.

"Come on now. Don't be shy," a voice somewhere behind her said. Misty turned around. She saw a figure entering the pool area-a young woman with wild dark hair and a familiar face. Yes, it was the Rocket who'd taken their Pokémon when they'd been brought in here. Misty's fists tightened. As angry as she was, though, something put her off guard. The Rocket's gait had changed. Before, she walked delicately, like every step was painful, and her body had looked so thin and frail. Now, however, her steps were strong and confident, and when she turned her head, Misty saw a chunk of her dark hair had gone stark white. A Pokémon walked behind her, hiding itself as if trying to melt into her shadow, though Misty recognized its familiar tail. A Vaporeon.

"Yo," said the rocket once she and Misty stood only a few yards from each other.

Misty didn't reply.

"You can relax. I won't bite," the young woman said with a grin. "The name's Fiora. You might have heard it when you were first brought in here if you weren't so occupied with your random thrashing around and incoherent yelling." She waved her hand dismissively, and Misty startled. The hand didn't have normal fingers but claws.

"What-" the question slipped out too quickly for her to stop it. Something in the Rocket's red eyes glinted.

"Admiring these, are you?" Fiora asked, holding them a bit higher and letting the bright lights above to pool reflect off them. "Yes, they're rather nice, I agree."

"How-" Misty finally found her voice, only to clamp her mouth shut again.

"It's Team Rocket's latest innovation. The ability to combine human DNA with Pokémon DNA, creating an entirely new creature." She lowered her hand, and her smug smile faded a bit. "Of course, it took a huge amount of experimenting to get these results. We have several hybrid Pokémon here at the facility that came into existence during research trials. As head caretaker, I'm charged with caring for those Pokémon, and that's where I need your help."

She took a sudden step to the side, leaving the Vaporeon behind her nowhere else to hide itself. Only... it wasn't a Vaporeon. The creature had the facial features of a Meowth.

"Hey!" the Pokémon snapped at Fiora. "Warn me when you're gonna do that!"

Misty gasped. She'd noticed Meowth was missing from Team Rocket's usual trio before, but she never had given much thought as to why. Was this the reason? Because Giovanni had used his own Pokémon in some twisted hybrid experiments?

"Meowth? Is... is that you?" she stammered. The hybrid shrank away like her question had caused him physical pain. Misty turned a furious glare on Fiora. "How could you let this happen?" The shock and disgust in her voice actually made Fiora grimace.

"Hey now, don't go blaming me for this," she said with a very real edge in her voice. "I'm as angry as you are. No Pokémon should be changed against its will. The experiments should have been conducted on willing subjects." She placed her clawed hand on her chest. "However, I don't get to make those calls, and what's done is done. Now it's my job to see this Pokémon gets properly acclimated to its new form. And considering you're a water Pokémon expert, and I can't even swim, well, you see the problem here..."

Misty didn't take her eyes off Fiora, but she could feel some of the anger in her muscles drifting away. Had she somehow come here against her will, like Misty had, and was now trying to make the best of the situation? Or maybe she had come specifically for this merger technology she was talking about? "You seem much... healthier than when we first got here," Misty observed, choosing her words carefully and finally relaxing her fists.

"I am," Fiora said. "And I have Absol's DNA to thank for that. But we're straying off-topic." She nudged the Meowth hybrid with the tip of her foot, trying and failing to inch him closer to the pool. "I asked you here to help this Pokémon realize his new potential and stop feeling sorry for himself. But if you don't think you can handle it, I'll have the guards escort you back to your cell. I'm sure we'll manage." She pointed to the hybrid, then to the pool. "Come on then, in you go."

"If you think I'm getting in there, you've got another thing coming!" the hybrid hissed. "I. Hate. Water. Period." It ran over towards Misty and hid behind her (which technically put it closer to the water, not farther away, but she decided not to point that out.)

Fiora rolled her eyes. "Sorry, pal, but you're a water type now. And who ever heard of a water type who can't swim?"

Misty sat down on the smooth tiles, inching forward to dangle her feet into the water. The coolness settled into her skin until she barely felt it at all, and she let out a long sigh. Maybe Team Rocket had done some terrible things, not the least of which was keeping Misty herself here against her will. But as long as she was here, maybe she could do some good. At least for some Pokémon who had also suffered at Team Rocket's hands. "She has a point," she finally said to Meowth. "Your body is made for it. Your tail, your fins, even your skin..." She gently stroked the hybrid's blue-scaled skin, right behind the ear where a normal Meowth would have adored it.

The hybrid shook its head and pulled away. "I don't care! I ain't going in there, and you can't make me!"

Fiora blew a strand of hair out of her face, moving off to unroll a floaty platform and push it into the pool.

Misty thoughtfully put a finger to her chin and changed her tactics. "Well, I'll tell you one thing. If I had skin like that, I don't think you'd ever find me out of the water."

Fiora lifted an eyebrow and a hint of a smirk cured her mouth as she remarked, "My, my. Is that a touch of envy I hear?"

Misty shot her an angry glare that she hoped properly summarized how much she was talking to Meowth and how little she cared what Fiora thought about the matter.

Fiora seemed to take no offense. She even offered a hasty bow as she continued about her work, going to one of the toy bins and tossing various floats into the pool. "Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it." She tilted her head slightly. "But you know... If you were open to helping out with some of our research here, you could do a lot of good."

Misty was no idiot; she went instantly on the defensive. "Oh, really? And what exactly is your idea of 'helping out'?"

The last of the toys landed with a sploosh, sending the Meowth hybrid scampering back a few paces to avoid the spray. He looked annoyingly at Fiora as she wiped her clawed hands on her skirt.

"Getting a merger yourself," she said at last in an isn't-it-so-obvious sort of tone. Misty had to admit; she was a little taken back by the bluntness. Fiora, it seemed, took a much different approach to things than Giovanni did.

"I know, I know," Fiora went on, as if the whole situation amused her. "I'm biased here. This procedure did save my life, after all. But there are other benefits, too."

Misty eyed her clawed hands skeptically. "Like what?"

"Like being able to speak Pokémon language."

Misty blinked. "Really?"

"Really. Of course, it's impossible to know what the exact effects of a merger will be. But if you were to merge with, say, a water Pokémon... no other water Pokémon trainer in the world would have the connection with them that you would."

Misty had to admit, that idea did appeal to her. But she wasn't going to let Fiora know that.

"Think about it," Fiora went on. "You could make history. Not just among your fellow gym leaders, but for all of Pokémon research. Plus, you have the benefit that this procedure has already been well-tested."

Misty shook her head, it was to much to take in right now. "We should get back to work," she said. She turned to the Meowth hybrid who was just now tiptoeing back over, careful to avoid every stray splash on the tiles.

"Okay, we don't have to go in the pool right away if you don't want to. Let's try something else first."

Meowth looked at her skeptically. "Like what?"

"Well, um..." Misty realized she didn't actually have any ideas for how to train a water Pokémon out of water, but then it hit her. "I know! Why don't you think of a name for yourself? For your new species?"

"Nice idea," Fiora agreed. "A new name for a new you." She scratched her chin with a claw, muttering, "It's a really good thought, actually."

Meowth looked a little less defensive at this. "A new name... and you want me to pick it?"

"Well, of course."

Meowth looked thoughtful for a while. Several times he looked like he was about to speak, only to shake his head and go back to thoughtfully rubbing his chin. Finally, he piped up, "I've got it. Aquafeles."

Misty let the name sit in her mind for a moment. "Aqua... wait, did you just use the Latin words for 'water cat'?"

"Yeah," said Meowth... Aquafeles, rather, looking proud at first, then suddenly embarrassed. "It's... it's okay, isn't it?"

Misty smiled and stroked the Pokémon's back. "It's perfect."


	9. To Stay

Chapter 9

Fiora had been tempted to stay when Misty almost coaxed Aquafeles into the pool. A protective instinct, maybe. The little Pokémon was still her charge. But Misty was a water Pokémon expert and a gym leader, and Fiora was fairly confident she wouldn't hurt the little creature, no matter what her feelings of Team Rocket were. Besides, Fiora had other charges that needed her attention, too.

Her staff were just finishing up the afternoon meals when she arrived in the kennel and she was glad to see a majority of her Pokémon friends munching contently. She was lucky, really. Aside from the hybrids, whose erratic behavior was excusable for obvious reasons, she only had a few "problem" charges.

She greeted Raven first and frowned to see the overturned water and strewn food in the Noibat's cage. "Well, somebody's been naughty, haven't they?"

Huddled in a corner, the little creature perked her ears then let out a joyous "Noi!" when she noticed Fiora outside her cage.

Fiora opened the door, unable to resist a smile when the little Pokémon clambered to her shoulder, burying her face into Fiora's neck. She knew she shouldn't encourage the behavior. Not if Raven was ever going to learn to respond to other Team Rocket members' commands. But Fiora had gotten a soft spot for the little Noibat ever since Pierce had stumbled upon her abandoned egg and brought it back for Fiora to look after.

"Shall we go check on the others?" she asked, to which Raven clung tighter with its baby claws. Moving further into the kennel, she paused at several cages just inside Iso, where the kid Ash's, along with Misty and Brock's Pokémon were now resting.

She knelt by one cage and reached her hand in. "Hello, everyone. How are we feeling today?"

To her satisfaction, she was greeted with a chorus of cheerful Pokémon sounds. One of the Pokémon, a bold little Snivy, even came over to nuzzle Fiora's hand. None of them seemed to be suffering any ill effects of the release and re-capture. A few more days and they would all be ready to join general population and be used for missions by her fellow Rockets. All perhaps except the Pika-Raichu. Her eyes lingered a moment on the new hybrid's cage, her heart aching for the poor creature who was huddled down and facing away. He wasn't going to last at this rate. She should really return him to his trainer. Even if the boss did expect all captured Pokémon to be integrated into the organization, Pika-Raichu was no longer an ordinary Pokémon. Hybrids were not a part of the main population yet. Nor were they being used in battles. In fact, she was the only one authorized to work hands on with them. Fiora scratched her chin with one claw. If she decided this hybrid was better off with its trainer, well, that was her call to make now, wasn't it?

 _Yes._ She knelt by the Pika-Raichu's cage, making soft clicking noises with her tongue as she unlatched the door. "Absol-ab-" she began, relieved that the Pokémon would understand her words this time. " _Come with me, and we'll get you to your trainer._ "

"Pi?" the hybrid's ear twitched and he looked at her. "Pika?"

Fiora cocked her head at the question. " _To stay?_ " Had someone been snooping around when they shouldn't? Again? Not Diva and Dunce, at least. Still, that wasn't the point.

 _First order of business when I get back. Change all the pass codes and locks._ "Yes," she said. "To stay this time."

#

Fiora did her best not to frown as she knocked on the kid Ash's door. Since when did new recruits get their own suite? She had to work for a year and completely re-design the kennel before the boss even considered giving her her own private rooms.

 _No matter,_ she told herself, reaching up to scratch Raven under the chin. The boss just had parent-fever at the moment. Her father, the professor, had suffered from it, too for a few months back in the day. Once Giovanni realized his precious offspring wasn't the vessel for all his hopes and dreams, the novelty would wear off. If Ash didn't bolt in the middle of the night after a few weeks, he'd be filed away with all the rest of the nameless peons for sure.

At last the door opened, and Ash stood before her looking drawn and drained. For a moment, one brief moment, she almost felt pity for him. Ash might not have been in the dungeon like his pals, but he still had the look of a prisoner.

"I've come to deliver your Pokémon back to you," she said.

When Ash's eyes fell on the hybrid at her side, his face instantly lit. "Pikachu!" he cried, holding open his arms.

"Pika-pi!" answered his friend as he jumped into Ash's arms and nuzzled his face.

Fiora stepped back, relieved to see Pika-Raichu happy and full of energy again. After a long moment, Ash looked bacl to her, his happy smile fading just a bit. "Where are the others?"

"They're still in isolation along with those of your friends Brock and Misty. Though only until they're properly integrated with the rest of the facility's population..." Fiora trailed. One look from Ash told her she might as well have been speaking Pokémon language. Seriously? Didn't anyone bother to explain the rules anymore?

"I don't understand," Ash finally said, shades of hurt and panic in his voice.

Fiora sighed. Clearly the kid didn't inherit his father's smarts. She spoke slowly and carefully, enunciating each word so he'd understand. "They're. Fine. You... are part of an _org-an-i-zation_ now. That means... your Pokémon are free for anyone in Team Rocket to use."

The kid's face fell. "B-but Pikachu-"

"Is also a hybrid now. They're unauthorized for outside use for the moment. He can stay with you until the policy changes. Which, fair warning, might be soon if your friend Misty keeps bringing us such positive results." Fiora could practically see the smoke coming out of his ears.

"Misty's… helping you?"

"Why, yes. She's been quite enthusiastic about helping us train one of our new water-based hybrids." She waited a minute longer as his young naive brain tried to process everything.

After what felt like ages, Ash finally put the pieces together. Mostly. "So, you manipulated Misty into working for you... and I can never see my Pokémon again?"

Fiora raised a clawed finger in warning. "I _asked_ Misty to help. I didn't force her. As for your Pokémon, when the integration process is done, you can file a request to take them into the field for missions." She paused and added authoritatively, "But you'll have to clear it with me first."

Ash stepped back, shaking his head. "No. That's not- they're my friends! You can't just- NO!"

Fiora's scalp tingled as she watched the kid's fists curl. "No!" he cried again, making Raven take to the air in alarm. His eyes set on her, burning with fury. At himself, maybe. And at her, too. Not that she gave a crap what her boss's spawn thought of-

Movement. The swing of a fist. So fast that Fiora didn't have time to dodge. Her nerves tingled, her eyes set on a point across the room far from the impending punch. Then suddenly she was there looking dumbfounded at Ash's back as he stumbled forward, his fist striking nothing but air.

 _How the heck?_ Didn't matter. That snot-faced little goody-goody had just tried to punch her! Her body was screaming to retaliate. She focused again and was there before him in a heartbeat. Her nose inches from his. He yelped and staggered back, hitting the wall. Fiora brought up a hand, digging her claws into the front of his shirt. She hoisted him up and slammed him back so hard, a framed picture fell to the floor.

"Don't. Do that. Again." She growled each word low and fierce as an Absol. She watched in satisfaction as a trace of fear shone in the boy's eyes. Like he was just now realizing she was not the same person he had met when he was brought in. That was was no longer weak.

"Pi-kaaaaa!" a Pokémon's voice sounded, and Fiora realized in all the excitement she had forgotten Ash had backup. She dropped his collar and whirled just in time to catch a bolt of electricity in her chest. The pain shot down every nerve and through every muscle. Oddly, though, it was not as debilitating as she expected. She was still standing when it ended, for one. Her heart was still thumping strong under her ribs, though her hair looked like a Skuntank's tail.

"Ow," she coughed, puffing out a wisp of smoke. "That was a cheap shot."

"Pika!" snapped Pika-Raichu.

"NOI!" screeched Raven furiously, landing defensively on Fiora's shoulder. Not that the little youngster could do much. Ultimately, it didn't matter. A second later, reinforcements pounded through the door.

"Is everything okay in here, sir?" one guard asked, eying Fiora up and down. She blinked in surprise when she recognized Jessie and James.

"Well, if it isn't Diva and Dunce. You two are on babysitting duty now?" she asked, prompting Jessie to step forward, muscles bulging.

"It just so happens we've been assigned as the twerp-I mean, Mr. Ash's personal body guards."

A laugh burst from her. "Yeah, good luck with that," she said, waving a dismissive clawed hand. "I'm outta here."

"The boss will hear of this!" James yelled after her. Fiora kept walking.

"Oh, I'm sure he will. Shame really, his kid attacking an elite agent his first day. And right under his bodyguards noses, too. So disappointing."

She could almost feel the impact of her words, but she didn't turn to gloat this time. She had already reached her stupidity-tolerance level cap for the day and besides, she had other things to think about. Like how she had managed to endure a thunderbolt to the face and pull off and actual feint attack.

 _I wonder what else I can do._

#

Ash did not return to his room, though Jessie and James certainly tried to coax him into it. He pushed them out of the way and stormed down the hall. James whimpered as he tailed behind. Ash felt a bit guilty. But he needed to get away from this insanity, to talk to someone who was a friend, who would reassure him that yes, he could still get his Pokémon back from Team Rocket and no, he hadn't made the hugest mistake of his training career. Or, for that matter, his entire life. He needed to talk to Misty.

He first demanded to know where she was being kept and for Jessie and James to take him there. Unfortunately, they had been ordered by Giovanni not to disclose that information. No chance for Ash to get anything out of them from that angle. He did, however, remember something Fiora had said. Misty was helping to train some water Pokémon. So if that were the case...

"Take me to... um, the water place," he said, trying to sound authoritative.

Jessie and James looked at each other in confusion. "The... 'water place,' sir?" James asked. "If you, um... need to use the facilities..."

"No, no!" Ash said. "I mean, like a pool or something. Wherever you-"

"Ah, yes!" Jessie said, clapping her hands. "The executives of Team Rocket have several luxurious hot tubs for their exclusive use. If you'll just follow me-"

"No!" Ash snapped again, slapping his forehead. "I mean, is there a pool that you use for training water-type Pokémon?"

Jessie and James blinked. "Oh," they both said in unison, and James bowed. "Y-yes, of course. How silly of us to not understand you the first time. Right this way, if you please."

Ash nodded and followed the two Rockets down an endless labyrinth of hallways. He knew in all likelihood, Misty wouldn't be there. They would have her doing training for maybe a couple hours a day at most, right? So she probably was back in her room now, nowhere near the pool. And yet, he still held onto the hope that he would hear her voice with each step they took down the hallway.

His hope, for this time at least, wasn't misplaced.

"Come on!" she called from just beyond the pool's entrance. "You can do it! Just jump in!"

Ash couldn't wait another second. He burst through the door. The pool was actually closer to the door than he thought, and the floor was slippery, so he had to throw out his hands and steady himself to avoid skidding straight into the water.

"Ash!" Misty exclaimed when he came in. She was in the pool, trying to coax Meowth to join her, but she quickly climbed out and dried herself with a nearby towel. Her attire was a black wetsuit with the Team Rocket logo emblazoned on the shoulder. She came up and gave Ash a quick hug, leaving wet splotches on his own uniform, too. "I'm so glad you're all right!"

"Y-yeah. Me, too," Ash replied. "That is... I'm glad that you're all right." He rubbed his arm, keenly aware they weren't alone, and turned to Jessie and James. "Bring us some tea. And, um... some of those tea crackers. That go with tea."

The two looked at each other and nodded. "I'll go," James volunteered.

"I want both of you to go!" Ash snapped. They didn't move. "Let me guess," Ash sighed. "That's against Giovanni's orders, too."

Jessie nodded happily. "One hundred percent correct, sir!"

Ash ran his hand through his hair. "Fine. James, stay. Jessie, go. Does that work?"

"It does indeed!" James said, equally chipper, while Jessie muttered to herself about being a body guard, not a butler and marched angrily out the door.

With only James in the room, Ash at least felt comfortable enough to sit down and talk openly with Misty about everything that had happened. James respectfully stood a good distance away and chatted with Meowth-Misty corrected Ash and said its name was Aquafeles now-and let the two friends talk more or less in private.

Ash shared everything Giovanni had told him, about the deal to lead Team Rocket one day, Ash's plans to destroy it. There was something else nagging in his mind he thought he should tell her about, but the memory of it felt fuzzy.

Misty, in turn, told him everything she had been doing with train Aquafeles. She also mentioned how much Fiora had changed after her DNA had been merged with Absol's... and how she'd not-so-casually suggested that Misty should consider getting a merger, too.

"It works with the mega stones," she explained. "You can only merge with a Pokémon capable of mega evolution."

Ash's eyes widened. How did she know this much detail about whatever messed-up process had changed Fiora, Jessie, and James so much? Unless...

"Hold on," he exclaimed. "You're not seriously thinking of letting them do that to you, are you?"

"Well, actually I..." Misty twisted her fingers. She always did then when she was about to tell him something he wouldn't like. Usually she followed it up with some talk about how he tended to see the world in black and white, and life was more complicated than that, and-

"Listen," he said sharply. "Whatever reasons they're giving you for why a merger might be a good idea, don't listen! Nothing any of these people do is for good. They're rotten to the core, every last one of them."

Misty turned up her nose. "Oh? So... you, too, then?"

"Wha-what?" Ash said. "No, not me! I'm trying to take them down!"

"You're wearing their uniform," Misty pointed out. "Who's to say you're the only one here trying to use Team Rocket's resources to do some actual good?"

"I-I..." Ash stuttered. He glanced over to the corner. James and Aquafeles had stopped their conversation at his little outburst and were both looking at him intently. "Forget it!" Ash growled. "Just... promise me you'll watch your back, okay?"

Misty looked startled for a moment, then shrugged it off with a nervous giggle. "You don't have to worry about me, Ash. I was messing with you, okay? I know to be careful." She turned back to the pool. "Do me a favor, and don't forget to take your own advice."


	10. First Battle

Chapter 10: First Battle

Fiora headed towards the elevator, Raven flapping close behind. As she waited for the transport to arrive, she paused in front of a mirror to smooth her electricity-frizzed hair and found herself frowning.

 _Gawk... this uniform really isn't practical for battling,_ she thought, tugging down the absurdly short skirt. Maybe it was time for a wardrobe change. Yes. To heck with dress code regulations.

She found her way to uniform storage, gathered up a box of various styles in executive dark gray and carted it back to her personal suite. Eventually, after much fussing in front of her bathroom mirror, she settled on pair of men's dark gray executive pants and more reasonable calf-high boots. After consideration, she decided to keep her original women's top- to flatter her new figure now that she wasn't all bones and skin. She kept the gloves too, though she chose a fingerless pair to show off her beautiful claws.

"What do you think?" she asked Raven, who was perched on her sink. The little Noibat shook her head. Though Fiora liked the new look, she had to agree with Raven. Something was missing. A belt? Yes.

She dug back through the pile of uniform odds and ends, producing the men's belt, which was huge and lopsided on her lean hips. After another moment's pause, she dug out a second identical belt, arranging them cross-wise below her exposed mid-section.

"Noi!" cheered Raven and Fiora smiled.

"You're right. It does suit." She gave a little turn, enjoying the freedom and sense of toughness her new outfit allowed. "All that's missing are the Pokéballs," she joked at her reflection and felt a nervous flutter in her stomach. She didn't let herself dismiss the idea this time. Why shouldn't she follow her own advice? If Misty could further her career as a trainer with a merger... why couldn't she? She _had_ always wanted to be a trainer, after all. All she'd need were some Pokéballs and an excuse to do some field work for a bit. Or perhaps she could get sole custody of Raven? She'd have to run it by the boss, but considering her status and all the work she had done-

She heard her door open and knew it was Pierce. Not just because he was the only member in this organization she had given her access code to. She'd know the sound of his quick, purposeful strides anywhere.

"Fiora? Are you here?" His voice sounded behind her then cut off with a sharp inhale as his shadow reached her open door. When she turned, she found his green eyes looking her up and down.

"You're..." He faltered. "You're breaking dress code."

She chuckled. "I know. You like it?"

He nodded once, a trace of color on his cheeks. "It suits you."

"Raven and I thought so, too." She stroked the little Pokémon's head and began folding and re-packing the outfits that didn't make her cut. "So what's the occasion?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you here?"

"Oh. Right." He cleared his throat, taking one last admiring look when he thought she wouldn't notice before going all business.

"Rumors have been flying all afternoon, but I wanted to hear it from you." his eyes shown. "Did you really learn how to do a feint attack?"

Fiora smiled. She focused, aimed, and appeared behind him in the blink of an eye, leaning in close to his ear. "Why, yes. I did."

Pierce startled forward, whirling around to gape at her. "This is incredible, Fiora! Do you realize what this means? What humanity could do with access to Pokémon techniques?" His voice was beaming with excitement and intrigue. "What other moves do you know?"

Fiora shrugged. "Beats me. I guess I'd have to battle to find out." Her eyes went wide as she looked at Pierce and he looked back.

"Battle. Right. Of course. I'll go get clearance and prep the arena for you-" He was already moving to the door.

"I'll be right behind you," Fiora called.

 _Looks like becoming a trainer will have to wait just a little longer. For the sake of science._ Not that she was about to complain. She really could use the exercise now that she wasn't bedridden. And she was itching to know what other awesome Absol skills she had. How had she phrased it to Misty? Get acclimated to her new form? She looked back into the mirror, fingered the white tuft of her bangs with clawed fingers then stuck up her chin.

"Maybe we should invite the Cerulean gym leader to watch this monumental match," she told Raven. "To put some... positive ideas in her head. What do you think?"

"Ba-bat!" the little Pokémon chirruped.

Fiora grinned. She had always prided herself on being quite clever. She had to be to make up for her physical limits growing up. But now… those limits were gone. She was no longer Fiora, Professor Sycamore's great mistake or her mother's poor helpless glass-child. Finally she could be the person she always wanted. A person with no weakness.

"As long as I'm dishing out around positive ideas here, I think I"m going to go by 'Fi' from now on," she decided. "How about it Raven? A new name for a new me."

"Noi..." Raven replied. Then with a sleepy yawn, she started to make a nest in the old uniform still draped on the sink. Fi picked her up, cradling the young Noibat in her arms as she too headed for the door in the direction of the kennel. The arena was no place for a baby Pokémon. And if she was going to be the one battling, Fi couldn't afford to get distracted.

#

"Ala-kazam!" cried Alakazam as it hit the arena floor and lay still. Fi landed nimbly a few yards away, arm muscles still quavering from the impact of her slash attack. So far that afternoon, it was the only other technique she had managed to master aside from feint attack. Of course, she wasn't sure what else could be expected when all her opponents were at a type disadvantage and no real challenge.

Kneeling down by her fallen foe, she quickly applied a revive. "You all right, Alakazam?" she asked when the Pokémon regained consciousness.

"Ala-" confirmed Alakazam. " _No hard feelings._ "

Pierce returned it to its Pokéball a moment later and shook his head disappointedly.

"Come on, Pierce," Fi urged him. "Show a little backbone! I can take it!"

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. You're still recovering from a major medical procedure _and_ a thunderbolt, remember?" he tried to argue. "And we don't know all the effects of-"

Fi was tired of hearing it. "I'm never going to learn the rest of my moves if I don't have a challenge." She shook out her limbs and brushed back her sweaty duel-colored bangs. "So stop being a wuss and _challenge_ me already!"

Pierce set his jaw, exhaled hard, and reached for another Pokéball. "Very well. Pangoro! Attack!"

Fi tensed as the huge panda-bear Pokémon emerged before her and snarled. "Now that's more like it," she snorted, her pulse quickening. A fighting-dark type was bound to push her to the limits.

"Pangoro, hammer arm!" Pierce ordered. On commandm the huge bear lumbered forward, its massive forepaw reared back with power. Fi sprang aside, dodging as the huge fist came down and cracked the arena floor. Her move. Time to see what this big fella could handle. She focused and aimed, then vanished only to materialize on the bear's back. She brought down her fists between his shoulders, delivering a sharp feint attack. But the blow just rattled up her arms. Her opponent hadn't even felt it.

"Vital throw!" called Pierce, and Fi felt a clawed paw reach back and clamp on her ankle. In an instant, she was lifted up and over, then swung down onto her back, colliding with the arena floor. She blinked her dazed, bleary eyes open and saw her opponent rearing back again for another hammer arm, its fist glowing with force.

 _No!_ Her blood raced. Her scalp tingled. Every instinct screamed at her to do something. She brought up her clawed hands as the paw came down digging them into the course fur and solid muscle.

"Pan?" questioned her opponent. And Fi realized with a thrill that the huge fist wasn't crushing her insides like a ripe berry. In fact, she was pushing back. She who was half this brute's size! She breathed in wonder, focusing past the baffled Pokémon looking down at her to the ceiling when she thought she saw the ghosted image of a sword.

With a shove, she pushed the mighty fist aside, slamming it into the arena. She focused and aimed, feint attacking a safe distance and materializing on her feet.

"Pan!" growled Pangoro.

Fi sucked in a breath, letting the image of dancing swords fill her with power. Then she flexed her claws. She could feel the new energy in her. Its strength was her strength. And it felt amazing!

"Hammer arm!" commanded Pierce. But she barely heard him. The moment Pangoro started to move, Fi was running, her claws bared, a snarl on her lips.

"I won't lose!" she screamed. The sound vibrated through every cell filling her head with a strange buzzing as the tingling of her scalp turned into a deep throb. The room morphed before her eyes, her opponent turning into someone else. Ash. He was standing next to Giovanni shaking his hand. But around him, the facility-the only real home she ever had-was starting to crumble.

She made a desperate lunge just as a huge crack split the floor under her feet. Her claws were aimed to strike down the boy, her enemy, where he stood. Then something solid collided with her gut sending her flying back. She slammed into a wall and crumpled down onto a solid, un-crumbling stone floor. But how was that possible? She was vaguely aware of Pierce calling. Of his rushing footsteps. Of his hands lifting her up, demanding that she look at him. Tell him if she was okay. It was his urgency, or perhaps his fingers on her cheek, that finally willed her mind to focus and her eyes to see straight.

"Fiora?"

"I'm fine," she wheezed, sitting up. Her eyes scanned the arena floor. The walls. Everything was as it should be. Nothing had changed.

 _But then, what did I see?_ She looked over to were she had been so sure she'd seen Ash standing. But it wasn't the boy there. Only Misty, watching the match exactly as she'd been invited to do. The water Pokémon trainer's eyes were wide, not with terror, but with amazement. And why wouldn't they be? She had just witnessed something never before seen-a human performing Pokémon attacks. And if it hadn't been for... for whatever that strange vision was, she would have seen a human _winning_ against Pokémon attacks.

Fi forced herself to her feet and walked to Misty as steadily as she could. "So?" she asked. "What do you think?"

"I..." Misty wrung her hands. Her lips moved, but no words came out. She _wanted_ to say, "That was absolutely amazing. Sign me up for a merger right now!" Fi couldn't explain how she knew that exactly. A hunch maybe? Or perhaps she could read the desire for power in Misty's eyes. But something was holding her back. A nagging thought? Or a warning someone had given her that she couldn't quite ignore?

Fiora growled under her breath. _That stupid kid. He's going to mess up everything. Better have a talk with the boss about him._ But to Misty, she simply smiled and said, "What's wrong? Persian got your tongue?"

Misty laughed weakly. "It... it was amazing. Really. Thanks for inviting me. I've got... some things to think about."

"Of course," Fi said with a nod. "Take all the time you need."

Misty turned and left, escorted by some grunts back to her quarters. When they'd walked out the door, Fi felt Pierce's hand on her shoulder.

"You haven't lost your edge," he mused, which made her smile.

"Please. That was barely a warm-up. It's Brock who's going to be the real challenge to win over. Like trying to wrestle an Onyx."

"Are you sure you're up to it?"

Fi set her jaw. "Of course, I'm fine. Really. A hyper potion and some band-aids and I'll be just-fine." Her voice cracked as the unnerving vision tingled through her skull against her will. From exhaustion perhaps?

"Even still," said Pierce, apparently reading her expression like an open Pokédex entry, "why don't you let me handle it? Just this once." He looped her arm over his shoulders and Fi let herself lean into him not, bothering to feel foolish. Not when his warmth was pulling her mind from the nightmare of crumbling walls and Ash, the cause of it all.

 _He won't last,_ she told herself. _We already have his Pokémon, Without his friends he'll have nothing._ "Okay," she agreed. "But just this once."


	11. Misty's Choice

Chapter 11: Misty's Choice

Ash was never one to think things through properly. He'd often found himself in situations that could have been easily avoided if he'd just taken the time to plan his actions instead of rushing into something in the heat of the moment.

Unfortunately, now seemed to be yet another one of those times. When he'd seen Misty deliberating, _seriously_ considering mixing Pokémon DNA with her own... he'd lost it completely. The next thing he knew, he was in Giovanni's office, yelling his head off about keeping Misty away from Team Rocket's twisted science experiments.

And this outburst-to none of his surprise, hindsight being foresight-had landed him back in the place he feared more than anything. Giovanni's "discussion" room, full of the hungry ghost Pokémon. Ash sat in a stiff metal chair, his father across from him, the picture of calm.

"You seem upset today," Giovanni began. "Tell me what about."

 _No!_ Ash wanted to yell. He'd been through this before. As soon as his feelings manifested, the Banette would be all over him, attacking his mind, devouring his memories and emotions, leaving a gaping hole for Giovanni to fill with whatever lies he wanted.

He needed to... he _had_ to stop feeling so strongly about this. But he couldn't help it. The thought of Misty letting Team Rocket mess with her genes sickened him. Terrified him. And with those thoughts, he felt the cold touch of the Banette's ghostly hands reaching into his mind.

"Get out of my head!" Ash snarled and tried to shake them off, but his frustrations only seemed to increase the swarm of Pokémon around him. The familiar laugh of Giovanni echoed around the room.

"You know, we developed this technique before Silver abandoned me," Giovanni mused. "But that boy only cared about his small-minded goals, and even then, he had no interest in putting in the effort to pursue them. He had no passion for anything, not even the Pokémon he trained. The Banette simply couldn't care less when he entered the room. But you... you give them a feast. You're a cornucopia of strong emotions."

Ash gritted his teeth. He couldn't stop his feelings. "Please," he begged, desperate to at least express himself before the Banettes began their feast. "Don't do a merger on Misty. You shouldn't be messing around with this sort of thing at all. Please-"

The cold consumed him. Ash held the sides of head, gritting his teeth against the pain. He felt the familiar sensation of a part of himself lifting away. When the sensation ceased, his mouth still formed the word "please", but he couldn't remember what he had been saying "please" about. He'd been asking Giovanni to do something. But what? What was it?

He wanted to cry, to grieve the lost memory. Then he heard his father's voice. "Now, now, don't be upset," Giovanni was saying. "I know how much you want your friend to get a merger, but the decision has to be hers, don't you agree?"

 _Don't believe him_ , a voice in Ash's mind seemed to say. _You know he's lying to you! Don't believe anything he says!_

But whatever he tried to tell himself, Giovanni's words simply felt right. Yes, he had been talking to Misty right before this. He remembered that clearly. And she had been talking about getting a merger. But then she'd expressed some doubts. That must have been what Ash had been saying "please" about. He knew how much good a merger would do for Misty, and wanted Giovanni to go ahead with it.

So... Giovanni hadn't tricked him, then, only used the Banettes to calm him down? It seemed to fit together in Ash's mind. And if the pieces fit, then they had to be true, right?

"What's... the best thing to do then?" he heard himself asking. His own voice sounded so far away.

"I think that's fairly clear," Giovanni said. He actually sounded kind for once. "Talk to your friend. Explain the advantages of receiving a merger, and I'm sure she will come around. She trusts you."

Ash stood up shakily, grasping the chair to hold his balance. "Right. Yes. I'll talk to her. Thank you for the advice."

"Not a problem, son," Giovanni said, and there was a strange tone to his voice. A happy tone. A little too happy. "Not a problem at all."

#

Misty had to admit; she was a little taken aback when Ash came to her, suddenly gung-ho on her getting a procedure that he'd passionately argued against only a few days earlier. But when he explained how he'd come to his decision, it sort of made sense. He'd had some time to think about it, he'd said, and while her understood her fears, the advantages far outweighed any risks. At least, she owed it to herself to learn more about it.

So now here she was sitting stiff-backed in a plush leather chair staring across a tidy office desk at aTeam Rocket scientist, Ash at her side.

"The process is very safe," the scientist, a petite dark-haired woman, assured her. "We simply inject a small bit of serum that makes your body susceptible to evolution, like a Pokémon's would be." She reached aside to take a metal briefcase from one of her assistants and unlock it with a fingerprint. Misty assumed it would contain a syringe of said serum, but instead, the woman turned it around to reveal a tray full of shimmering round orbs of various colors.

 _Mega stones,_ Misty realized. The scientist smiled kindly. "You can choose any stone you like. Mega Stones are unique in that they only react to a specific Pokémon species. Your DNA will then shift to match that species, giving you features of the Pokémon you've selected."

Misty looked carefully over the collection. There were quite an array of stones here, but of course, the number was far from the hundreds of known Pokémon out there.

"So... I can only merge my DNA with a Pokémon that can Mega Evolve?" she asked.

The scientist closed the briefcase and handed it off before taking a seat at her desk. "At this stage in the technology's development, yes."

Misty rubbed her chin. She still had a nagging doubt about this whole thing, even with Ash at her side, encouraging her.

"There's still plenty of options," he pointed out, leaning forward in the polished leather guest chair next to hers. "And plenty of amazing water Pokémon that can Mega Evolve."

Misty nodded absently, going over the choices in her mind. There was Slowbro, though she didn't relish the idea of having a giant Shellder constantly clamped onto her. There was also Swampert or Blastoise, both powerful Pokémon, but not quite her taste. That left Sharpedo or Gyrados. Both Pokémon had certainly made her nervous on her first encounters with them... Gyrados, especially. Yet they both had an elegance to them that highlighted what she loved about water Pokémon. Neither was suited to life on land at all. They were born in the water, and commanded it like no other Pokémon could. And in the end, when Misty compared the two, one did that much more so than the other.

"I... I'd like a merger with Gyrados, please," she said, surprisingly calmly. Her mind already had started to shift to the possibilities. Speaking with water Pokémon. Perhaps even breathing underwater, like Gyrados could. Or being able to perform a Water Gun attack. Maybe her skin would grow elegant blue scales in a few places? She smiled at the thought. She would be strongest water Pokémon trainer ever, exactly as Fiora said.

 _And when I am, I'll make sure Giovanni knows never to mess with me again._

 _#_

The walls were dark in Brock's cell. This didn't upset him on the surface. He trained rock types. Caves and tunnels and closed, dark spaces more or less came with the territory. No, what drove him to near insanity was the lack of information. Day after day, he asked after his friends, how long Team Rocket planned to keep them here... anything! The most he could get from any of the constantly changing guards was Team Rocket propaganda. Their great leader had made a scientific breakthrough unlike anything humans had ever seen before. With it, Team Rocket would take over the world. Brock hadn't believed them, of course. Then they'd shown him some video footage of one of their agents-the weak girl Brock had seen when he'd first arrived. Only she was stronger now, battling against Pokémon with her own Pokémon attacks.

This had terrified Brock far more than anything else could. If Team Rocket could do things like this, what chance did Brock have against them?

He began the day in despair as he had each day since then. But something different happened that morning. The person who brought him breakfast wasn't a nameless guard-it was Pierce, the Rocket who had helped Jessie and James capture them to begin with.

"You asked for news of your friends," Pierce said, sliding a tray of food through a slit in the door.

Brock stiffened as he received the tray, expecting Pierce to follow up with something like, "Well, too bad, because you're never seeing them again! Bwa-ha-ha!"

Instead, to Brock's surprise, the panel over the cell door's window slid open, allowing Brock a rare glimpse of the outside. Pierce locked eyes with him and said, "I've been instructed to inform you that Misty has decided to get a merger. She is down in the lab as we speak. Our technicians are preparing the serum to merge her with Gyrados."

The tray almost slipped from Brock's hands. Despite all his self-promises not to let his guard down in front of Team Rocket, he found himself shouting, "I don't believe you! There's no way Misty would agree to that!"

"See for yourself," Pierce said. Brock heard a soft click and the usually blank monitor in his cell flickered to life. The image was fuzzy at first but soon took shape. Brock was looking at some security camera footage... the lab, he realized. What appeared to be a hospital bed sat at the center of the room. A man in white lab coat pointed to the bed, and Misty nodded. Then she climbed onto the bed and lay perfectly calmly as other Rockets in white coats strapped her down. Finally, a woman approached with a syringe. Not once did Misty struggle or even look upset at what the Rockets were doing. If anything, she looked... excited.

The screen turned off once again. "Here's the interesting thing," Pierce said. "Our boss has a theory. So far, we've been experimenting on more or less willing participants and altering less than fifty percent of their DNA. What if we were take it further, make someone more Pokémon than human? What happens then?"

"Who would want that?" Brock demanded.

Pierce laughed. It was a horrific sound. Soft and cruel, full of his pure delight and disregard for the suffering of others. "An Eevee doesn't evolve into a Flareon or a Jolteon because it _wants_ to. It evolves because a trainer brings it into contact with the correct stone. So while willingness has certainly made these experiments easier, we are starting to suspect it may not be a necessary component." His eyes glinted, giving Brock a sudden chill.

"You're going to test it on Misty..."

"Very perceptive." His mouth twisted into a mean smirk. "I suggest you start thinking about which Pokémon you'd like a merger with. I suspect you will be in Misty's place far sooner than you think."

And with that, he turned and left before Brock could say another word.


	12. A Breath Underwater

Misty crossed her arms and let the water swallow her. She wasn't sure how to feel. All her life, she'd adored water Pokémon, but without a ton of bulky breathing equipment, she couldn't join them in their world. In an instant, all that had changed. Ironically, thanks to the man she probably hated more than anyone else in the world right now.

She closed her eyes, trying to make sense of everything that had just happened to her. The details were fuzzy in her mind, but she knew one thing for sure-the merger had gone nothing like it was supposed to.

#

The moment the serum shot through her, it felt like her blood had been replaced with ice water. She shifted under the restraints, looking to Ash for reassurance, only to find the Rockets were escorting him out of the room. Much to his protests. After that, her head had felt too heavy to hold up anymore and she'd laid back on the bed once again.

The cold would go away as soon as her skin came in contact with the Gyradosite, she told herself. It was just a temporary discomfort, nothing more. Then she'd felt the stone's hard, smooth surface against her arm. And it felt like her entire body was fighting against itself.

#

Misty scrunched up; her body sunk deeper. The whir of machinery, the distant mutterings of human conversation faded in the water's depths. Even her language barrier with the water Pokémon was gone after the merger. She could hear soft mutterings from the Goldeen swimming around the tank, whispering to each other about what this strange new creature was that had entered their domain. She allowed herself to open her eyes.

Beautiful. It was beautiful down here. The light danced through the glimmering water, making patterns across the tank's floor, the Pokémon's fins, and her own skin.

I've got fins now, too, she reminded herself. She nervously looked down at where her legs used to be and gave her scaled, muscular tail an experimental flick. Yes, it was most definitely hers. She could feel the resistance of the cool water against it when she moved. Yet she still felt more like she had that time she'd performed an underwater stage show. Like she was someone wearing a costume rather than someone who had just changed species. Maybe there was an adjustment period? It wasn't as if science had a lot of research in this area. Or really any research at all. Misty would grant Giovanni that much; he had certainly broken new territory.

"Hello," said one of the Goldeen who been brave enough to approach her.

Misty smiled nervously, unable to free her mind from its natural tension that told her she had to get to the surface. Her brain didn't understand that her body didn't need that anymore.

#

The change had come swiftly. First the blue scales on her arms, as she'd imagined. Only they didn't appear just on her arms. They appeared all over her legs, her chest, even up to her neck. Then she began to convulse. Her legs straightened and she couldn't move them individually anymore.

The Rockets around her scurried about, all speaking in muddled voices. Except for one.

"Percentage!" Giovanni demanded. "I need a percentage!"

"Fifty-five percent, sir!"

Fifty-five percent what? Misty had wondered. Is the procedure fifty-five percent over? Or am I...

She tried to lift her legs again and found they didn't exist. All she could see when she flexed those muscles was the blue-and-yellow tail of a Gyrados. Misty tried to scream but couldn't get a full breath. She didn't like the air out here. She wanted the water. Her skin felt dry. She looked over and saw someone holding up a purple Pokéball emblazoned with the letter M. The ball opened, enveloping her with red light. In that moment, she felt relief and comfort. Her body convulsed once again, and she closed her eyes as the world went dark.

#

Misty reached a cautious hand to the Goldeen and stroked its belly. "Hello yourself," she said quietly. The Goldeen smiled and waved its elegant fins at her. The reds and oranges made the wave look like underwater fire.

Of course, the merger hadn't just let Misty enter the water to speak with her beloved Pokémon. It had ensured that the water was her permanent home. She could, perhaps, exit and engage in a Pokémon battle, and move about sluggishly, but practically speaking, she couldn't live on land anymore.

She shuddered at the last few memories she could recall before the red light took her. Fifty-five percent. That was how much of her DNA belonged to Gyrados now. And Giovanni had most definitely captured her in a Pokéball; she'd been unable to escape. So... did that make him her trainer now? She couldn't think about it.

What she did think about was her anger. Or rather, her lack of it. Her life as a Pokémon trainer was over. She should have been livid. And yet, there was that small part of her-the little girl who fantasized about living underwater, who'd almost drowned in the ocean more than once because she just couldn't stay away from it... Did she want to be a Pokémon trainer all those years just to bring her closer to this world, the one she could finally call her home?

Her head hurt. She let the philosophical thoughts go and focused on the present. Up on the surface, she could see the shadow of a feline Pokémon seated on the edge of the pool, staring into the water. For all the problems he had caused, Aquafeles did seem concerned about her after the merger. She supposed she should at least let him know she was capable of breathing down here.

"I'll be right back," she told the Goldeen.

A moment later, Misty broke the surface, sending a refreshing spray in all directions.

Aquafeles turned up his nose at the display. "And... how was it?" he wanted to know.

Misty pushed her wet hair out of her face. "It was... well, it was amazing," she said. She couldn't think of any other term for so many new sensations hitting her at once.

"So," Aquafeles said, rubbing a paw against his whiskers, "you're happy with this situation?"

"Happy?" Misty stiffened. She was emotionally numb, she'd admit. But not going into hysterics was far from being happy. "I've got a Gyrados tail where my legs should be, and I'm being held prisoner in a tank in some secret Team Rocket base somewhere!"

Aquafeles seemed unfazed by her outburst and licked his paw. "Yeah," he agreed. "But you didn't answer my question."

Misty scowled. "Of course I'm not happy," she said. She looked down at the water, the vague shapes swimming below that she could rejoin whenever she wanted. "But... for now, I can keep going. I can breathe."

She knew she should feel some more emotion about everything. Maybe her mind couldn't handle any more emotion after the merger. Maybe all it could do now was absorb this strange new experience and form feelings about it later, when everything had settled.

Aquafeles yawned. "Well, that's good to know," he said. "Just from my humble observations, your friends are going to need that positive thinkin of yours. Probably sooner than later."

Misty stiffened. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Your friend... the twerp-"

"His name is Ash," Misty snapped.

Aquafeles rolled his eyes at the correct. "Fine. Whatever. Ash, then. He talked you into this, am I right?"

"I... I was thinking about doing it on my own," Misty replied, twisting her fingers and lowering herself in the water a bit. "But I was having some doubts before he talked to me..."

Aquafeles shook his head. "Listen, there's not a whole lot I can tell yous... on account of, I don't know a whole lot myself. But I think the boss has some... some way of messing with your friend's head. I think... he meant to discourage you from getting the merger at all."

Misty laughed. She had to. The whole idea was so ridiculous... and so terrifying. "So, what? You're saying Giovanni has a way to just change someone's mind on something?" She tried to laugh again, but it didn't quite come out right. Something about the way Aquafeles looked at her so solemnly stopped the sound in her throat.

Oh, gosh. He's serious. She swallowed hard. "You need to get Ash down here to talk to me again," she said. "I have to tell him this wasn't his fault! And we have to figure out how to stop Giovanni from doing this again! What if he goes after-" She gasped and covered her mouth. "It's too late, isn't it? He's already gone after Brock?"

Aquafeles didn't respond right away, at least not vocally. Instead, he turned, flicked the water with his tail, and started towards the door. "I'll see what I can do to get him here," he said. "But I think your other gym leader friend should be the least of your worries."


	13. New Visions

Chapter 13: New Visions

 _a/n: Thanks again for all the comments everyone! We are getting close to Ash thinking about a merger, too. (He will probably be the last of the cast to actually do it, though!)_

"I see. Is that so? Well, then, thank you very much for the information, Lorelei."

Sabrina tapped the phone off and placed it delicately on her desk. Zoe was organizing some papers and trying very hard to look like she hadn't been listening in on Sabrina's conversation. But in front of a telepath, such feelings were rather difficult to keep secret.

"Yes," Sabrina said, startling Zoe and causing her to spill some of the papers.

"Y-yes to what?" Zoe asked. She bent down to pick up the mess and in the process seemed to realize the silliness of her question. "Oh, yes to my completely unvoiced curiosity about whether or not that was Lorelei of the Elite Four on the phone. Of course."

Sabrina smiled. Zoe was one of the best telepaths studying under her. And that made Sabrina one of the few people she couldn't see into the thoughts of. Zoe's curiosity to know what she couldn't hear was only natural. And in this case, it wasn't as if Sabrina had planned to keep such information secret.

"I've been calling around, checking in with the other gym leaders," Sabrina said. "It seems Giovanni of Viridian City has some sort of new project in the works."

Zoe frowned. "That's the man who runs Team Rocket, isn't it?"

"There's no official evidence as such," Sabrina said. "But yes, that's him. He has quite a lot of resources at his disposal, and apparently, he's been putting them to use in the field of genetic experimentation." Her gaze drifted past Zoe. The office had no outside windows, only a slim window in the door that showed the bustling hallway-psychics and trainers alike all hurrying past, busying themselves with their work.

"But all that is old news," Zoe said. "We knew he was experimenting with Pokémon DNA back when he created that new Pokémon, Mewtwo. Unless..." The color drained from her face a bit. "Unless he's made another new Pokémon since then."

"A new Pokémon?" Sabrina said, still looking at the door. She almost laughed. "No, not a new Pokémon. This time, it's been human beings at the center of his experiments."

Zoe gasped. "He's experimenting on people? To do what?"

"To see if he can blend human and Pokémon DNA together."

Zoe said nothing, but she did carefully place her stack of papers on the desk. Probably to ensure she did not drop them again. "But... he can't, can he?"

Sabrina gave a shrug. "Rumor from Agatha is that he already succeeded at least once. She has many connections in the dark places of the gym network, most especially with such powerful ghost Pokémon on her side." There was a long silence between them. The activity in the hallway seemed to have calmed down. No one new passed by. "Naturally, I plan to follow up directly with Giovanni in regards to this matter."

"Is that wise?" Zoe asked, her eyes widening.

"It's no more foolish than taking action based purely on rumors," Sabrina replied. "But, if you don't mind, Zoe, this is a conversation I would like to have in private." She placed her hand on the phone still sitting on her desk, and Zoe bowed quickly.

"Yes, of course. I understand. I'll speak with you later then." She hurried out the door, leaving Sabrina alone in the quiet. Sabrina ran her fingers over the keys. This call... all her visions had pointed to it at the catalyst. She could leave it alone, never allow any of the negative consequences from her visions the chance to sprout in reality. But if she did that, she never allowed the chance for her power to grow, either.

She gave a long, slow exhale and picked up the phone.

#

Fi hefted the massive barbell into the cradle and sat up sweating and gasping for breath. She didn't want to guess what time it was. Late enough to earn a lecture from Pierce when he found out for sure. But what else could she do? She'd tried everything to cure this blasted insomnia from a singing Jigglypuff, to Drowzee's hypnosis, to a heaping whiff of Breloom's spore powder, but nothing worked. Every time she closed her eyes she saw terrible things. She couldn't exactly call them nightmares. Fi had plenty of those as a kid and they all had one thing in common-she knew when they were over. But these images in her head... whatever they were... felt different. When they happened, she could sense the danger tingle through her whole body, like heat off a fire. Or the first gust of an encroaching storm. She was on edge even after she woke up, too, unable to shake the memory or the fear no matter how hard she tried.

It was infuriating.

Rising from the bench-press, Fi shook out her arms and stretched before moving on to a dangling punching bag. Shifting stances, she let loose a string of punches in quick succession. If Pokémon become stronger through battling and learning new techniques so could she. She'd train until she mastered everything about her new self. Then she'd conquer these stupid images and re-claim her life.

"I'll never be weak again!" she snarled, landing a kick. "Never!" She reared back an arm, swinging with all her force. There was a ripping sound as her claws sliced through the heavy fabric, sending padding gushing out from the tears. She stared at her hand, a laugh starting to form on her lips. Until she felt her scalp start to tingle.

Suddenly there was movement. Fi whirled around instantly and stared wide-eyed at a wall mirror where her own reflection should have been. Instead she saw Ash, a deranged grin on his face. Around her, the floor was starting to shatter apart.

No. Not again!

"Fiora?" Pierce called, somewhere behind her. She jerked around, searching, but that part of the room was already gone. Crumbled away into darkness.

"Pierce!" She cried out to him, but her voice didn't carry. Above her, a vicious storm had crackled to life, splitting through the dark with streaks of lightning. Fiora stood alone on a patch of rubble, surrounded on all sides by blackness and ruins as icy wind whipped her hair. Pierce. Her Pokémon friends. Everything she had worked so hard for. Gone. Grief roiled in her gut, then turned to a wild, boiling rage. She threw back her head letting an Absol howl tear from her chest.

Someone answered.

Between the flashes Fi saw one chunk of rock jutting up above the rubble, far in the distance, with a woman's silhouetted figure standing atop it. The woman's long hair flowed past her hips, her hand was outstretched, and her eyes glowed red as embers.

The one person who could stop this.

"Who are you?" she yelled towards the figure.

The woman didn't answer, but a flash a lightning gave Fi just the briefest glimpse of the woman's face. She recognized it at once, of course. Growing up, constantly envying trainers on their journeys to the various gyms of Kanto, she knew enough to recognize a gym leader when she saw one.

Sabrina. I'm supposed to talk to Sabrina?

The vision-Sabrina lowered her hand, and her stiff gym leader's uniform began to morph, stretching into what looked like a flowing white gown. The sight made every nerve in her tingle in warning…

"Fiora!" A hand clamped down on her shoulder, warm and anchoring. In an instant, Sabrina and the darkness cleared before her eyes, and she found herself looking up into Pierce's face.

"Pierce?" Her voice caught. Was this real? Or just another part of the nightmare image? Would she have to see him taken from her a second time?

"What are you doing up so-" he began, then froze when she leaned into him and pressed her face into his chest. "What's wrong?" His voice went soft. "Was it another nightmare?" She felt his arms enclose her, delicately, like he was afraid he might break her. No surprise, really, with how she was acting.

She forced herself to pull away. "I'm fine," she breathed, repeating the words until she believed them. "I'm going to be fine. As soon as I go to Saffron City." She turned on her heels and began walking to the nearest phone, leaving Pierce scratching his head.

"Saf-what? Why?"

"To see Sabrina and get her to stop these dream-vision-whatevers before I lose my blasted mind!"

The boss wasn't going to be happy about this. It was completely impractical to go trotting off to Saffron City now. Team Rocket needed her here. The hybrids needed her here. Yet what good was she in she had a mental breakdown in the middle of work? No good, that's what.

"Fiora, wait!" Pierce caught up to her and hit the disconnect just as the call was about to go through.

"I have to do this, Pierce," she glared at him. "And for the last time, don't call me Fiora. It's Fi. Fi!"

"I understand, but-" Pierce cleared his throat as he pointed to little clock in the corner of the video screen, "the boss isn't going to appreciate a call at three in the morning, Fi."

"Oh..." She felt her face warm and set down the phone with a sigh. "Right."

"I'll make sure you get in to see him tomorrow, first thing. But right now you need to get some sleep." He tried to fight a yawn. "We both do."

She dropped her hands limply to her sides, finally feeling the pull of fatigue on her overworked muscles. Soon, she was fighting off a yawn as well. Perhaps she could finally get some rest after all.

#

Being a Pokéball wasn't that much different than sleeping, Brock discovered. He remembered perfectly well all his thoughts and feelings the moment the red light had pulled him in. He remembered the pain of the serum shooting through his veins. He remembered the pressure of the Steelixite against his skin. And he remembered the heat escaping his petrified muscles. If there had been any denial about his fate, his time inside the Pokéball had given him more than enough time to come to grips with reality.

He was now a Pokémon with an owner, and Giovanni was that owner. He had no idea what that meant, but he knew he would fight it. With everything in him, no matter what demands Giovanni made, he would fight. He would not be broken.

The next time he came out of the Pokéball, it was disorienting. He wasn't strapped down to a bed any longer, and there were no white-lab-coat scientists around. Instead, he stood in what looked like a training stadium, empty except for himself and Giovanni. He tried to stand, then remembered his legs were no longer there, and straighted instead, balancing as his rock-iron tail coiled in anger.

"Well, well, good morning," Giovanni said with a sneer.

"What do you want?" Brock snapped. For a moment, he also forgot that he'd lost his human speech and startled at the sound of his own gravelly words. But then he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"He asked what you want."

Brock turned around to see Meowth standing behind him. Or, what looked like Meowth, but with fins and an aquatic tail. Apparently, Brock thought, I'm not the only one around here who's had his DNA messed with.

Giovanni nodded. "I should think what I want is obvious. This is a training session." He snapped his fingers, and the low lightning in the room grew to full brightness. Brock shielded his eyes for a moment until they could adjust.

"Now, we're going to keep this nice and simple," Giovanni said. "I'll command you to perform some basic attacks. You do them, and you're free to spend the rest of the afternoon as you will."

Brock raised an eyebrow, eyeing Giovanni with suspicion, or at least as much as he could in the overbearing light. If he was going to fight, he could do so even more with allies, and this could be the perfect opportunity. "As I will? What if I want to see my friends?" he asked. Meowth gave the translation.

"It can be arraigned, if you wish," Giovanni said with a yawn. "But let's get to the task at hand first. Show me a tackle."

Tackle? Brock had thought that Giovanni was being sarcastic when he said the attacks would be basic, but it didn't get much more basic than that. There had to be a trick here somehow, something he wasn't seeing. But it seemed such a simple task, and aside from a bit of his pride, he had little to lose and everything to gain.

Brock leaned forward slightly and gave the ground in front of him a smack with the end of his tail. He looked over at Giovanni, who nodded with approval.

"Not bad. Tackle again."

Brock did so. He didn't do it more intensely or change his efforts in any way, but every time he looked up, Giovanni was there, shouting "Tackle!" again and again and again. How many more of these before he finally gave up and let Brock see his friends? The man had to have more interesting things to do with his day than yell "tackle" over and over again. After so many times of it, Brock stopped even looking up for the next command and moved into another tackle attack as soon as he first one. The only variety Giovanni gave in his commands was where to direct them. A few times he tossed in a "to the right!" or "to the left!" Brock adjusted his attack every time with barely a thought.

"You have an opponent!" Giovanni suddenly yelled out. "Tackle in front of you, now!"

Brock looked. He didn't know when or or how it had run in, but there was, in fact, an opposing Pokémon in front of him. A Noibat. Still in the rhythm of performing tackle after tackle, he raised his tail at it. When his shadow fell over the winged Pokémon, it did not attack back Instead it covered its head with its tiny claws and wailed. The sound felt like it snapped Brock out of a trance. He got control of himself enough to land the attack near the little Pokémon, but not on top of it. Shaking with fear, the Noibat lifted one wing and looked nervously up at him.

It's never battled before, Brock realized. It's just a baby! Then he found he was shaking, too. How could I have not noticed that?

"I've put extensive hours of study into Pokémon obedience," Giovanni said. "It seems that the more badges one has, the more Pokémon are inclined to obey. But that, of course, is ridiculous. A badge is merely a piece of metal. Then I realized the true connection. Pokémon are more inclined to obey the more of their master's orders they have carried out." A sinister grin broke across his face. "After enough successful executions of a trainer's orders, obedience is something that comes as a second nature, even if the relationship between trainer and Pokémon is... strained at the start." He held out a Pokéball and recalled the shivering Noibat. "I haven't tested it out on merged humans, of course. But I imagine that the lesser a percentage of your DNA remains human, the more this principle holds true. You've just executed no less than one hundred and fifteen attacks on my command. How are you feeling after that?"

Brock gritted his teeth, refusing to answer, but it seemed that Giovanni didn't really expect a reply. "Let's experiment, shall we? Show me Iron Tail."

Brock stiffened and didn't move at first. However, unlike before, ignoring the command left him with an uneasy sensation - like he was on a stage with everyone waiting for the last word of a poem or the last note of a song. Then the awkward discomfort grew to tension, nervousness, a sour feeling in his stomach. He struggled to push the feeling away, but he could feel nausea start to overtake him. Finally, in rage and frustration, he obeyed. Unlike with the Tackle attacks, he threw his whole weight and power into the attack, shaking the walls of the training room.

"Seems my theories aren't far off the mark, then," Giovanni said with a smile. "Very well, then. I shall keep my part of the bargain. You are permitted to see your friends. Return to your Pokéball, and I'll have you escorted there."


	14. Reunion

_a/n: So, just FYI, December is kind of an insane month for us. So rather than try to push out rushed chapters of this fic, we're taking the month off to catch up. We do have one holiday-themed Avatar fanfic we'll post a little later in the month, and then we'll resume our regular schedule in January. As always, if you want to read a chapter ahead, feel free to check out our blog. (See our profile for the link.) Ash does actually consider what sort of merger he will get in the next chapter.) Have a great holiday, everyone! -Rowan & Katrina_

#

Aquafeles grumbled to himself as he walked down the hall. On one hand, he probably should have been happy. He'd been wanting the boss to give him more responsibilities around Team Rocket for how long now? So being given an assignment of any kind could only be a good sign.

 _Still..._ he thought as he turned a corner and trotted down the same identical-looking hall with the Master Ball almost slipping out of his mouth again, _Still, it would have been nice to get a job above delivery boy._

The hallway was empty, and he placed the ball down for a moment, working his jaw a bit before picking it up again. He was supposed to take Brock to see Misty and Ash separately. The boss had made that plenty clear enough. But the water cat Pokémon had made Misty a promise. And, what could he say? He'd been out in the field a long time, and a lot had changed in the Viridian City gym since his last trip here. Really, if he "accidentally" wandered to Ash's quarters first, and the brat just "happened" to follow him to the pool area, he could hardly be blamed for whatever happened afterward.

Or so he told himself as he picked up the Master Ball, walked briskly around the next corner, and scratched at the third door on the right.

"Pika!" Ash's electric rodent answered from inside the room. At first, there was no other sound. Then Aquafeles heard some scuffling and an annoyed, "Pi-KA, Pika-pi!"

Ash rubbed his eyes, looked around, and without seeing another human standing in front of him, he almost closed the door again. Aquafeles cleared his throat loudly, and Ash finally glanced down.

"Oh, it's you," he said in a tone that straddled some awkward place between forced politeness and profound disappointment. "Do you... need something?"

Aquafeles set the ball down and rubbed at his whiskers. "Oh no," he said in a flat, sarcastic monotone. "What am I doing? I was supposed to take Brock to go see Misty first and then come here. How could I have forgotten?" He narrowed his eyes and continued without inflection. "I will be back later. You should definitely not follow me."

Ash narrowed his eyes as if it was taking the kid's full brain power to process Aquafeles' complete lack of subtlety. "You're... going to see Misty?" he asked then cocked his head. "What's inside the Pokéball?"

Aquafeles stiffened. He knew Giovanni had been keeping Ash in the dark about his friends' transformations, but this much? No wonder the boss hadn't wanted the three of them in a room together. "I guess you'd have to follow to find out, wouldn't you?" he asked, then picked up the ball again and walked down the hallway. It was only a moment before he heard Ash and Pika-Raichu's footsteps behind him. The strange trio passed several grunts along their way, but very few of them took notice. Those that did gave Ash a polite nod or tip of the hat and continued about their business. The merger process had been successful five times already. Giovanni would be preparing to introduce it to the world at large soon. Soon, but not yet. In the meantime, there were many preparations to be made.

They reached the pool area, and Ash's face brightened up again. "Misty comes here even when she's not training you?" he asked. "Man, you can't keep her away from the water, huh?"

 _No, you sure can't anymore,_ Aquafeles thought but didn't say. Let the brat piece everything together. He had no need of the drama. He attempted to push the heavy swinging door and didn't quite have the strength for it. Ash stepped in behind and helped him out. Aquafeles nodded his thanks, feeling only a touch guilty for what Ash was about to see. He set the Master Ball down and approached the pool with caution. Neither Misty nor the other water Pokémon were on the surface, which meant he had to go underwater to get their attention.

Bracing himself, he stood at the pool's edge, all but digging his claws into the siding. Then he swallowed hard and stuck his head below the surface. He could Misty along with some Goldeen and Tentacool hanging out at the pool's floor. He didn't blame her. If he still didn't detest water to the very core of his being, he wouldn't have minded having a quiet place to escape to as well.

"Hey!" he snapped quickly. "Get up here!" He then yanked his head out of the water and shook himself off. Misty had told him he'd have to get used to it sometime. It was his element now, after all. He just didn't see why sometime had to be today.

The still water began to ripple with the movement from below. Then, in a spectacular spray of droplets that caught the light and cast several fleeting rainbows on the walls, Misty broke the surface. She threw her head back, and Aquafeles noted it had been cut fairly short. Whether for Misty's convenience or the convenience of the grunts watching over her, it was hard to say. The white side fins of her muscular tail also surfaced, and she quickly swam over to where Aquafeles was waiting.

All the while, Ash stood to the side dumbstruck. "I... I, um..." he attempted to stutter.

Misty looked towards him, and her eyes widened. The Gyrados tail plunged back under the water. "A-ash! I... I didn't know you came- why are you here?"

He didn't answer. Instead he walked closer to the pool, like someone under hypnosis. His gaze locked on the water, which was perfectly clear and made the Pokémon half of Misty's body quite easy to see. Misty didn't attempt to move away from him this time. She simply let him absorb what had happened. Like she was still absorbing it herself.

"You... you got the merger," Ash finally managed to say.

She rubbed her arm. The movement splashed a bit of water on Aquafeles, and he backed up farther. "Yes," she said quietly. "I... appreciated your encouragement. Even... even if it didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped."

"Wait, I encouraged you?" Ash rubbed his head. In confusion, yes, but it was more than that. He looked like he was in pain. "I'm sorry. It's just... I remember talking to you. But I don't remember what I said."

"You don't remember what you said?" Misty's discomfort at being seen in her half-human state seemed to ebb as worry took its place. "Ash, we only had this talk a couple days ago."

"I know, I know!" Ash backed up a bit, still rubbing his head and gritting his teeth. "It's hard to explain. But lately... there's these gaps in my head. Like I only have muddy pictures of what happened. And sometimes... I think I remember, but... the memory feels like it doesn't fit right."

Aquafeles frowned. He had an idea what might have caused the strange gaps in Ash's head. That didn't mean he wanted to think about it. Better to change the topic. "Listen," he said. Both Ash and Misty looked at him with raised eyebrows. Probably they'd forgotten he was even there. Typical humans. Well, somewhat-humans, at any rate. Meowth walked over and nudged the Master Ball he'd set down earlier in Ash's direction. "If you alls are gonna have this conversation, might as well do it with your friend here."

Ash looked bewildered, but Misty's eyes just went all... well, misty. "That's Brock's Pokéball, then?"

Aquafeles nodded solemnly.

Ash stopped holding his head and stared at the ball. He gave a weak laugh, like Misty had told a pretty lousy joke but he was too polite to tell her so. "O-oh! You mean the Pokéball _belongs_ to Brock. I get it. Which Pokémon is inside, then? His Crobat?"

"Ash-" Misty said gently.

"His Geodude?" Ash asked again.

Misty grit her teeth. "Ash, enough."

"Oh, wait! Don't tell me he got his Vulpix ba-"

"Brock doesn't own the Pokéball, you idiot!" Misty snapped. "He's _inside_ of it!"

Ash's eyes widened-every bit as much as if he'd been punched in the gut. Apparently, it was hard to ask use stupid questions as a way to shut off reality when friends kept shoving reality back in your face. But still, Ash managed to bury his head in the sand a tiny bit more. "No..." he said. "That's impossible."

 _Says the brat who jumped off a building after his Pikachu and somehow survived._ Aquafeles shook his head. Having lost a decent chunk of his own patience, he snatched up the Master Ball, jumped over to Ash and plopped the thing right in the kid's hand. Ash's thumb went to the release, almost as if on instinct, and in a flash of red light, Brock appeared beside the pool. Even Aquafeles had to admit, he was a bit taken back. Getting to Misty was easy-the Rockets didn't really need to guard her so much when travel on land was so difficult for her. Brock they'd kept a much closer watch on-this was the first time Aquafeles had seen him, too. The former gym leader uncurled his arms as though he'd been holding himself in a fetal position before being released. As he straightened, he came to an imposing height, though nowhere near the height of a full Steelix. Perhaps a large Machamp. His tail flicked, forcing Ash to jump back. Steelix's signature barbs stuck out from the back of his neck and skull, adorning his head like an crudely-shaped crown. He turned one way then the other, disoriented for a moment, until his eyes settled on Misty. His initial reaction was shock, as Ash's had been, but there was something more to it than that. The two assessed each other's new form with a completely different understanding. A shared struggle they'd both been through and would probably keep going through the rest of their lives. Aquafeles could sympathize with them on that front, even if he'd never had the "being human" experience.

"Hey," Brock said, trying to smile and mostly failing. "You're okay, then."

MIsty's eyes watered. So much for her putting on a strong face. "Brock..." she said, voice cracking a bit as she scanned him again, realizing just how short a stick he'd drawn in this whole mess. "Brock, I'm so-"

Brock put up a hand. "Don't say you're sorry," he said. "Just... please don't."

Ash watched the two of them, his body shaking violently. "I-I..." he stuttered. "I don't understand. Brock, I'm not following anything you're saying. It sounds like... like..."

"It sounds like Pokémon speak," Aquafeles cut in, his patience still rather thin. "Because it is. It seems after a certain percentage is passed, human talk gets tricky."

"But Misty-" Ash began. Aquafeles held up a paw.

"Misty's DNA is 55% percent Pokémon. It's natural she would understand him." He gave a nod to Brock. "You're 70%, if you happened to be curious."

"I wasn't," Brock said angrily, but Aquafeles shrugged it off. He more or less made a career of getting people angry with him. No reason he would take one more human's rage personally.


	15. Big Ideas

a/n: We're back on schedule! Apologies for being away so long. Rowan and I have been hard at work on our original novel, and as much as we love fanfiction, we want to make every effort to further our writing careers, too. Thanks for your patience, and we hope you enjoy reading!

#

Chapter 15: Big Ideas

A knock came at Giovanni's door. He straightened anxiously. He had seen the little blue light blinking on his office phone; he knew a call was waiting for him. But usually his staff filtered out all the unimportant ones. The list of calls he would take personally was very, very short.

"Yes?" he asked. The door cracked open and Pierce peered inside, looking a bit nervous. "It's her," he said with a nod and slipped back out, shutting the door behind him.

 _At last._ Giovanni picked up the phone as cleared his throat as he slipped into his most polite and professional tone. "This is the Viridian City gym leader. Who is speaking?"

There was an amused "Hmph" on the other line. "Now, now, if you worked at my gym, you wouldn't need to ask that question." "Because you only take telepaths under your wing?" Giovanni said smoothly, with only the barest hint of mockery-a tone that said, "We are friends enough to have a laugh at one another's expense, are we not?"

"Because we know how caller ID works," Sabrina replied. "Really, Giovanni, for someone who has supposedly made a scientific breakthrough, your office technology is quite behind the times."  
"I know where my efforts need to be focused."

Sabrina coughed lightly. "Well, enough of the formalities. I have heard that you can grant Pokémon abilities to humans."  
Giovanni licked his lips. So she had gotten wind of the mergers rumors. He had to admit, "leaking" that information without making it clear it had come from him was an art form all its own. But he had managed it. And now...

"Perhaps," he said, struggling to keep his voice steady. "Tell me what you've heard." His fingers twitched, greedily stroking the two Master Balls on his belt. Two former gym leaders, both given incredible powers through the merger technology. Now both his property, under his command. But they had started as normal humans. Aside from their trainer-related accomplishments, there had hardly been anything special about them. Sabrina, though? She was different. The young lady had been born with incredible telekinetic abilities, enough that they rivaled the most powerful of psychic Pokémon. What would she be like if exposed to merger technology? And more importantly, what kind of powers would Giovanni be able to wield if he could overdose and capture her the same way he had the other two?

"You can merge human DNA with that of a Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution," Sabrina stated softly. Stated, not asked. Of course, Sabrina rarely asked anything. At best, she humored people by filling them in on which of their many thoughts she'd already read. "You are correct," Giovanni confirmed. "The process is still in its infancy, of course, but we have seen a great amount of progress. Some of our volunteers have gone so far as to perform actual Pokémon attacks." There was a long silence on the other end. Long enough to make Giovanni nervous but not so much that he would do something foolish like ask if Sabrina was still there. There would be plenty of time to manipulate her decisions. He couldn't start too early. Tricking a telepath was no small feat, after all.

"I want to speak with you more about this," Sabrina finally said. "Could you possibly make a trip to Saffron City?" Giovanni twirled a pen in his fingers-an expensive one more suited to display than actual writing. "That could most certainly be arranged," he said. "Though I fear my gym duties will keep me rather busy the next few days. Please allow me to send one of my agents ahead of me, and I will travel to meet with you personally by the end of the week. Is this satisfactory?"

"It is," Sabrina replied. "Please tell your agent I look forward to our meeting." And with that, she hung up. Giovanni's hand shook with excitement as he set his own phone down on his desk. This was not a time to engage in emotions. He had to be tactful.

Sabrina's mind reading didn't work over distances. Therefore, Giovanni could not arrive first; he couldn't get close enough to Sabrina for her to sense his full intentions. Sending someone else... sending Agent Fiora, to be exact, under false pretenses would ensure Sabrina didn't learn of his plan. Fiora would be oblivious. At least to some extent. The woman had proven to be rather ingenious at merger recruitment. But he didn't wholly trust her feral nature. Least of all now that she had Absol strength. Why just the other day she had called up on his private line, rambling on about having visions and needing time off and some such nonsense. Though really she sounded delirious. Sampling the Poké-nip, maybe? Or up fraternizing with Agent Pierce like a hooligan?

No matter. Wild or not, she would get the job done. Of that much he was sure. And when she did…

A smile tugged at his lips as he reached for the phone and placed a call to Fi's office. Yes, everything would work together perfectly.

#

Ash glared at Aquafeles with a look of intense hatred. "What was the point of even bringing us altogether?" he snapped. "To gloat or something?"

Aquafeles turned up his nose. "In case you alls haven't noticed, I'm a victim here, too. The only reason the boss was able to do mergers on you was because of all his experiments on Pokémon like me." For a moment, his muscles locked, his feline brain remembering how much it hurt. Not just the physical pain of the transformation but how it had made him feel afterward. He was a step in the process. An experiment to be observed, documented, and filed away as science marched forward. The boss hadn't cared how he felt, not even once. Aquafeles wished he could forget his owner just as easily. He was like some stupid Charmander waiting out in the rain for a trainer that would never come. He still wanted to make Giovanni happy, no matter how many times he got kicked down.

"But Ash hadn't been merged with any Pokémon yet," Brock pointed out. He looked over in Ash's direction. "You... are dressed differently, though."

"Ah, that's right. You wouldn't have heard," Aquafeles purred, his mood lifting a bit. Knowing something others didn't always had a way of cheering him up. "The twerp here is an official Rocket executive now. Turns out he's got the boss's blood in his veins."

"Wait... you're Giovanni's son?" Brock asked. "You're working for them now?"

 _Don't sound so shocked,_ Aquafeles thought, rolling his eyes. _I mean, seriously, you've had your DNA scrambled with a giant rock snake, and this little insight is the most shocking thing you've heard today?_

Ash shook his head. At least he had the observational powers to notice Brock had asked him a question. "I didn't understand you," he said.

Brock's eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

"He wants to know if you're stabbing him and Misty in the back," Aquafeles said.

Brock let out an angry roar and raised his tail. "I did _not_ say that!"

"Okay, okay, chill!" Aquafeles said, rearing back and putting its two front paws up in defense. "I'm sorry, all right? You want to know if the twerp-"

"Ash!" all three friends corrected at once.

"-Ash, all right? You want to know if Ash is working undercover at Team Rocket. That more accurate?"

Brock's tail rested back on the floor again, though it remaining precariously close to knocking Aquafeles back in the water at any time. He nodded his approval at the new translation.

Ash twisted his fingers. "I... guess you could say I'm working undercover..." he said slowly and carefully. "But the thing is, I'm not really sure Giovanni cares. He knows I don't support him. But he says as long as I don't work against him for the next three years, he'll hand full control of Team Rocket over to me. Even if the first thing I plan to do is dismantle it."

Misty thoughtfully rubbed her chin. "That doesn't make any sense. What does Giovanni gain from making you a deal like that?"

"Nothing," Aquafeles said. "And Giovanni never makes deals that get him nothing." He narrowed his eyes at Ash... his boss's offspring... his future boss in three years. If he was going to suffer from undying loyalty to Team Rocket no matter what, he could at least put his trust in a more hopeful place. "The boss gave you that offer because he thinks you won't dismantle Team Rocket. Because you'll make it better than ever."

Ash nodded uncomfortably. "I know. He told me so himself. But... I was so sure he was wrong, I just agreed without thinking."

"You do just about everything without thinking," Brock grumbled. Then he quickly turned to Aquafeles and said, "Don't translate that."

Aquafeles frowned but respected Brock's wishes. Misty remained silent in the pool, her gaze still locked on the tiled floor as her mind presumably worked through ideas. "So... what exactly makes Giovanni think you'll be such a different person in three years?" she pondered aloud. "I mean, no offense, but you don't tend to be open to new suggestions about anything-your philosophy about how to treat Pokémon least of all. You'd die before you'd change that belief."

Ash wasn't the least bit insulted by her assessment. Judging by the smile on his face, he took it as a compliment. "I don't know why anything would make him think that," he said. "If I thought he could change my mind, I never would have made the agreement in the first place."

"But you said yourself, something's been off with your memories lately," Misty argued. "What if Giovanni has a way to manipulate you? Something you don't know about yet?"

"The man does have some powerful Pokémon on his side," Brock said.

"Present company included," Aquafeles agreed. Brock growled at him again. This time, however, Aquafeles wasn't intimidated. "What? It's the truth! If you two wanna act like you've got another owner, be my guest. It ain't gonna change anything."

"Quit leaving me out of the conversation!" Ash snapped.

Misty raised herself up in the water, sending out a spray. She formed an X with her arms and stared everyone down with a death glare that could put even the scariest Seviper to shame. "Enough arguing, all of you!" she said. Her gaze focused on Ash. "Why don't you tell us what you do remember? Everything you can up until there's gaps. Everything you recall afterward. Maybe we can figure this out."

Ash sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Okay... I remember being angry at Giovanni for... something. I think this was when you were still trying to decide if you wanted a merger or not." He nodded at Misty, and she nodded back. "I was upset, and we went into this dark room to talk. I remember I felt more calm afterwards. And then I'm pretty sure I came and talked to you, but... I'm not clear on what we said."

"And how do you feel about Giovanni now?" Aquafeles asked.

"I think..." Ash was visibly struggling now. Not like he didn't have words. More like he didn't even have thoughts to put into words. "I don't like him," Ash finally concluded. "When I think about him, I tend to get angry. But then... some part of me feels like I shouldn't be angry. It's really weird. I'm sorry... I can't explain it much better than that."

Brock and Misty looked both concerned and lost. Not surprising. Aquafeles, much to his own distaste, had neither of those feelings. "You said you had a talk in a dark room," he said. "Was it only you and Giovanni? Or were there some Pokémon in there as well?"

Ash furrowed his eyebrows. "Now that you mention it... I think there were Pokémon in the room. They didn't seem too interested in Giovanni... I think, they were mostly hanging around me."

"What type of Pokémon?" Brock asked.

Aquafeles didn't translate-it was just as easy to answer the question. "Ghost Pokémon," he said, then turned to Ash again. "I know the place you're talkin' about. It's a room full of ghost Pokémon."He paused and shrugged. "Well, Banettes and Shuppets, mostly. I've heard of it being used, but..." He looked Ash over cautiously. "But this is the first time I've really seen the effects for myself. The ghost Pokémon can feed on the memories and emotions of another, leaving their victims open to lies. Fake memories. If you're not so sure what happened even a couple days ago, I'd say the boss has used it on you more than once."

Ash began to shake again. "So... you're saying if Giovanni does this to me enough times... I'll be like him?"

"Hey, look on the bright side," Aquafeles said. "You've got some prime Pokémon you'll inherit. You can your friends can even go on some Pokémon journeying together again. Just, y'know, two of you enslaved to the third."

Ash groaned but didn't make any reply.

Brock crossed his arms. "Wow," he growled sarcastically, "you really brighten up any room you enter, huh?"

"It's a gift," Aquafeles replied, then stepped closer to Ash. Maybe he had been a touch too hard on him. The kid was holding his head in his hands and sobbing way more than Misty ever had.

"I'm so sorry," he cried. "You'd never be here if it wasn't for me! This whole mess... everything is my fault."

Misty flicked her tail, sending up a splash of water that doused Ash and made Brock cautiously back away. "Pull yourself together!" she snapped. "Brock and I decided for ourselves to come here with you. None of this is your fault!"

"B-but... the merger," Ash sniffled, red-eyed. "You weren't going to do it until I talked to you."

Brock muttered something under his breath.

"Exactly!" Misty said, then quickly remembered she needed to translate. "Brock says to stop flattering yourself-you aren't that convincing."

Ash gave a weak laugh that turned into another sob. He wiped his eyes on the crisp white sleeves of uniform. Giovanni would have had a fit. Still, as pathetic as the kid looked, Aquafeles had to admit, there was something he envied here. He'd always put his own emotions to the side on just about everything. The consequences of looking weak in front of the boss weren't worth it. But Ash was fine with letting everything out. He didn't care if looked utterly pathetic. He just knew that he wanted to cry, so he did. There was something refreshing in that. Something Aquafeles dared to hope the boss wouldn't be able to crush.

"I'm sorry," Ash said again. Hiccuping, of all things. "I'm okay now. I... need to think."

He started to pace around the tiled floor. Not exactly his brightest idea, as the tiles were still fairly slick from the water Misty had splashed out, and the soles of Ash's boots didn't have the best traction in the world. He almost slipped and fell on his behind twice. But whatever else it did, it seemed to get his brain working. "If only there was some way..." His voice trailed off, his eyes looking at something nonexistant off in the distance. It was very uncomfortable. Jessie and James only got that sort of look on their faces when they were about to try some big, extreme idea that could only fail epically.

"You said... the ghost Pokémon in that room... they're Banettes and Shuppets, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So why don't they attack each other?" he asked. "Go after each other's memories?"

Aquafeles shrugged. "I imagine those don't appeal to 'em. They're after humans. Or at least other Pokémon that are different enough from them."

"Right," Ash said with a nod, like this was exactly the answer he'd been expected. "So, what if... let's just say... I didn't feel human enough? If I felt more like one of their own? You think they would leave me alone then?"

Brock and Misty's faces both whitened with horror. Brock barked out, "Ash, are you insane?" and Misty translated.

"Don't you get what's happened?" she went on. "We aren't even human enough to be trainers anymore! And I'm not saying that to make you feel bad, I'm saying it to remind what you've got to lose. You're supposed to be the one who can take down Team Rocket. Officially. From the inside. What good does it do anyone if you let Giovanni turn you into some ghost Pokémon under his command?"

"He won't do it, anyway," Meowth said. "Giovanni doesn't want another human-Pokémon hybrid in a Master Ball on his belt. He wants a loyal heir, someone he can count on to continue his legacy long after he's gone." He gave his paw a lick, then recoiled a bit at the presence of scaled skin rather than soft fur. Old habits died hard. "Besides, even if he was willing to give you a lighter merger... something that left you more human than Pokémon, don't you think he'd have the sense to see through this little plot of yours? I promise you, there won't be any Banettite in your list of options."

Ash hung his head. Aquafeles really wanted to believe this would be the end of the conversation. But he wanted to believe a lot of things. He wanted to believe he could somehow be a normal-type Pokémon again. He wanted to believe the boss really did care about him, against all evidence to the contrary. Wishing a thing didn't make the thing real. And Aquafeles had an uneasy feeling that with this new, borderline suicidal idea in Ash's brain, there was no possible way the kid would let it go.

"Come on," he finally said. "We better get out of here before someone sees us all together."

Ash nodded and started in the direction of the door, but the thoughtful look on his face refused to leave, no matter what anyone said.


	16. Sabrina's Allies

**Chapter 16: Sabrina's Allies**

 _a/n: Sorry for the short chapter this week! The story just made sense to break it up this way. The next chapter is considerably longer, we promise! Thanks for reading!_

#

The room was still and quiet.

It was early afternoon, and Lusamine had declared that she needed a rest. Her condo in the heart of Saffron City was every bit the picture of luxury as the family mansion back in Alola, and she retired to a lavish bedroom with long silk curtains and a king-size bed that looked strangely suffocating with only one person in it.

Gladion stood in the doorway of his mother's room and watched her chest gently rise and fall. Occasionally, she turned roughly or made some small whimper, the feeling of being inside that monster Nihilego still flickering in her memories.

Talking with the Pokémon researcher Bill had certainly helped her. And yet she had never been able to return to Alola. In Kanto, she felt safe, she had told her children. In Kanto, she could pretend that none of the horrible things she'd done had ever really happened.

In full honestly, Gladion hated the way she lied to herself. But Lillie was happy just to have their mother back. For the sake of keeping the peace in the family, Gladion had to pretend like he was okay with it, too.

He felt a gentle nudge at his side and turned to see his Silvally working its head under his hand, looking to be petted. Gladion smiled and obliged. Then, slowly and silently, he pulled the bedroom door closed and walked into the hallway.

He had hardly taken more than a few steps when his phone begin to vibrate. Gladion looked at the screen. At first, he thought someone must have called him by mistake-he didn't recognize the number at all. Then he realized that the area code was local. Someone was calling from within Saffron City. In that case, he had an uncomfortable feeling he knew exactly who this call was from. The only thing he didn't know was why.

#

The phone rang only twice before it picked up.

"Gladion," Sabrina said by way of a greeting.

"I-I... Sabrina. Yes. Hello," the young man stuttered. "Sorry. It's just... it's been a while."

Sabrina nodded thoughtfully. Yes, it had been several years since their two halves of the family had made any contact with each other. Perhaps Sabrina and Lusamine had decided that, given both of their unfortunate tendencies to go to unhealthy lengths for power, they were better of not interacting with each other.

"So," Gladion said awkwardly, "why are you calling me now?"

Always the direct type. She admired that about him. "Because I need you to come to the Saffron City Gym. Exactly one week from now."

"I'm-" Gladion began before she interrupted him.

"You're in Kanto. In fact, you're staying at your mother's condo not far from here. You plan to visit with her for a week, then fly home to Alola."

There was a grunt of frustration on the other line. "You know, being related to you, even distantly, is still one of the most unnerving facts about my life."

Sabrina smiled. She'd be lying if she ever said she didn't enjoy making others uncomfortable with her powers. And soon, that power would be far greater than she could ever imagine. Of course, it would also be easy to capture and manipulate. Hence why she needed Gladion.

"When you arrive, one of my assistants will provide you with a Master Ball," she said. "Conceal it immediately and proceed to the gym challenge area. I will be... undergoing a procedure in there, most likely under the supervision of the Viridian City gym leader, Giovanni."

Gladion scoffed at the name. "Gym leader? Mob boss is more like it. I was on Team Skull, Sabrina. They weren't the brightest crew, but they knew who their enemies were. Why would you be doing anything with the head of Team Rocket?"

"That's none of your concern," Sabrina answered coolly. "Now, I'm also going to need to you to bring your strongest Pokémon with you. It's possible the door may be guarded, and you will need to defend yourself. At some point, the lock will break and the door will swing open. You are to run inside and throw the Master Ball at me."

"A-at you?" Gladion asked. "I'm sorry, but I don't-"

"Afterwards," Sabrina said calmly. "You will retreat and head on the first flight to Alola. Lay low for a while if you can. Can you do all this for me, Gladion? It's important."

Gladion gritted his teeth. She could sense his hesitation over the phone. He had no clue what she was asking of him or why, and Gladion had never been the type to rush into something without evaluating the consequences. And yet they were family. If Gladion had any weak point, it was that he would always go above and beyond for family.

"I can do it," he said firmly.

Sabrina breathed a sigh of relief. It was one thing to see a vision of the future. Another to watch it actually play out. "Thank you," she said earnestly. "This has been a dream of mine for a long time. I will see you in a week." And with that, she hung up the phone.

#

Sabrina spoke to Zoe next. First she gave the girl a gentle reminder that she was second in command of this gym and should anything happen to Sabrina, Zoe was expected to take over all responsibilities in the gym's maintenance, retaining its solid and prestigious reputation.

Unsurprisingly, Zoe was not at all enthralled by these reminders and wanted to know why Sabrina was giving them.

"Are you planning on something happening to you?" she asked urgently. "Are you sick? Are you in danger?" She wrung her hands worriedly.

Sabrina smiled and shook her head. "No to your first question."

Zoe waited a moment before asking, "And... my second question?"

"Not as long as I play things right," Sabrina replied. "Now, I have something to ask of your. You remember Lusamine? My second cousin. Mother's side of the family."

"The one who almost caused a cosmic meltdown in Alola," Zoe said.

"Excellent. You remember, then. Well, her delightful son is coming to visit me next week, and sadly, I fear I may not be immediately available to see him. But I do have a gift for him. Please make sure he gets it." She tugged on Zoe's hand and placed a Poké Ball firmly in her palm. Zoe looked at the device's sleek purple surface, and her eyes widened.

"Th-this is a Master Ball!" she exclaimed. "Where on Earth did you even get-"

Sabrina held up a hand. "You know how I detest interruptions. Now, when Gladion receives this gift, he will obviously want to thank me for being so generous. Please show him the way to the gym training area. Do this regardless of any orders either myself or Giovanni give you to the contrary that evening. Do you understand?"

Zoe tightened her grip on the purple ball with shaking hands. "Yes," she said with an obedient bow. "I understand." She turned to leave but paused at the door way. Without looking around she said, "Please, Miss Sabrina. Be careful." She left without waiting for a reply.


	17. The Visit

**Chapter 17: The Visit**

Pierce could tell Fi was irritated. She had been the entire helicopter flight here. He credited the sleep deprivation. Well, that and their disguises. If one could indeed call them that. Judging from the number of puzzled stares they'd gotten so far strolling through Saffron City, his plan had backfired in a big way and Fi, naturally, wasn't going to let him forget it.

"Remind me again why we have to wear these stupid costumes?" She eyeballed him over a pair of punkish sunglasses that fit rather well with the studded black leather she had tossed on over her uniform. Not the agent trench coat he'd suggested.

Pierce tugged his own coat collar a little tighter around his neck. "To avoid looking suspicious," he told her again. And again Fi rolled her eyes.

"Sabrina's a psychic. Pretty sure we're not going to surprise her."

"Yes. But that doesn't mean we need to go announcing ourselves to the entire city. We need to be more tactful. More subtle." He dropped his voice. "Now will you put those back on?"

Fi grunted, readjusting her glasses to hide her unnatural red eyes and muttered, "Subtle. Right. This coming from the guy who drove a truck off a bridge and soared away with a jetpack."

"Humph," replied Pierce. Okay, so maybe he'd concede on that _one_ point... but he wasn't about to admit it.

When they arrived at the Saffron Gym, they were greeted just inside the foyer. Not by Sabrina. The renowned psychic could probably predict their arrival to the second, but it seemed such powers kept her far too busy to answer her own door.

Instead, they were waved in by a scruffy-haired young man in white coat and mask who looked more like a mental patient than a professional psychic. Considering some of the rumors he'd heard about Sabrina herself over the years, Pierce wasn't entirely surprised. "We're here to see Sabrina. I believe you'll find she's expecting us," he informed.

The man snorted and mumbled something along the lines of, "You ish to shala ange the greof mabrina?" into his mask.

Pierce exchanged a glance with Fi. "You have extra-sensitive hearing. Did you catch any of that?"

Fi scratched her cheek with a gloved hand, a mischievous smirk crossing her face. "Something about becoming a pretty ballerina?"

The man's face went crimson and he garbled again, louder this time.

"Oh!" Fi exclaimed, moving her hand into her palm. "You wet yourself in the arena."

The man yanked off his mask, stomping in fury. "NO! NO! I said _you wish to challenge the_ _great_ _Sabrina?_ " He all but shouted the last part, which was unfortunate for him as Sabrina chose that exact moment to teleport in directly behind him.

"For the last time, Florance, will you please stop referring to me as 'the great Sabrina,'" scolded the gym leader, rubbing her temples.

Now Florance looked like he might wet himself for real.

"Great Sabrina! I... er, that is... I was only-"

"Some tea. For our guests."

"Yes. Tea. Of course, great one. I mean, Miss Sabrina. Ma'am." He took off running, colliding with a fellow student and causing the box of spoons he was carrying to go crashing to the floor.

A small sweatdrop appeared on Pierce's head as Fi snickered aloud. "And here I thought _we_ were scraping for lackies."

Sabrina cracked the barest of smiles. "You must be Fi."

"Oh?" Fi dipped her sunglasses low giving Sabrina a long look with no shortage of sarcasm. "How ever could you tell?"

The gym leader's smile didn't break. "Well, I _am_ a psychic."

Pierce groaned. He definitely wasn't living this one down. He cleared his throat quickly. "More to the point, Sabrina-"

"Your girlfriend needs help controlling her newly emerged powers. Yes, I'm aware of that, too," Sabrina interrupted.

Pierce felt his face flood with sudden heat.

Fi's head whipped around instantly. "His what now?"

"Oh no, we're not-" Pierce blurted awkwardly as Fi stared at him with arched eyebrows. Where had Sabrina gotten that idea from?

Sabrina turned, held up one finger and made a _tsking_ noise "Psychic. Now, let's get started, shall we?" Sabrina glanced over her shoulder and narrowed faintly red eyes at Fi. "And yes, you can take off the 'stupid disguises.'"

#

"We'll be working in the Reflection Chamber," Sabrina was saying as she led them through one creepy, candle-lit hallway after another. "It often helps my students who are having trouble contorling their power."

"Uh-huh," said Fi, trying to sound engrossed as she followed. She was concentrating more on keeping her hands busy than listening. Helped settle her nerves, for one. But more importantly, it let Sabrina have a better look at her claws without being overly obvious. Not her usual merger-promotion strategy, it was true. But Sabrina wasn't a gullible kid like Misty. Sob stories flavored with lies were useless against a psychic. And using blunt force would be downright idiotic. Sabrina definitely wasn't a pathetic pushover like Diva and Dunce. If Fi was going to complete her mission and convince Sabrina to get a merger, she was going to have to be more creative. Oh, and submit herself to whatever training Sabrina required. There was that, too.

She glanced over her shoulder and found Pierce lagging a few steps behind. He refused to meet her gaze. Still flustered, maybe, after Sabrina called out his little secret that wasn't really secret. Fi had always known the guy was a sentimental fool. But her boyfriend? That was a stretch. Pierce was loyal to a fault, but that didn't necessarily mean he loved her like that... did it? Was it even right for him to love her now that she was part Pokémon? And if he was, if he wanted to take their relationship further, what then? Fi had no idea. But this was some intriguing new territory. Territory she intended to explore.

As soon as her mission was over.

Fi set her jaw when they arrived through a pair of ornate doors. For something as fancy-sounding as "reflection chamber," there wasn't much to the place. Aside from a marble brazier burning incense at its center, the room was like all the others they'd passed. Marble floor. Candles. Distinct creep factor that made Fi's neck hair bristle.

"So, what am I supposed to do exactly? Meditate until I have some miraculous realization that the skill I needed was inside me all along or some-?"

No one was there. Pierce and Sabrina were gone. So was the door.

 _Seriously? Shouldn't dark types be immune to psychic mind tricks?_ Obviously something she needed to practice.

"Okay, guess I'm by myself now. Could've told me what I'm supposed to do, but fine. Whatever. I'll just figure it out."

She paced the perimeter, starting where the door had been. She found no hidden passages. The wall was simply a wall. Like there had never been a door at all. But they had walked in together, so surely she was just not seeing some secret switch or something. Unless had Sabrina teleported her somewhere different? Fi brushed herself off. Then shook out her limbs. Her molecules didn't feel any more scrambled than usual...

A voice sounded behind her, calling her to attention. "Are you lost?"

She whirled and froze. She was no longer in Sabrina's gym or even in Kanto. She was back home in Kalos, standing, of all places, outside Professor Sycamore's lab. He was standing just inside the entrance staring at her like she was some curiosity.

 _No, I'm not lost, you piece of crap! I'm not even supposed to be here. It's just a mind trick._ She wanted to snap in his face. But when her mouth opened, her voice came out small as a child's. _Was_ a child's.

"No, I-" she clutched her arms to her chest, tightening them around the plush Bulbasaur that hadn't fit in her kiddy backpack. "I'm your daughter. Fiora." She looked up at the tall man with Lillipup eyes, her chest thrumming with hope just like it had when she was eight. Surely he would take her in this time. Surely _he_ would let her start her Pokémon journey. He had to. He was her father, after all.

Professor Sycamore rubbed a hand uneasily through his messy hair as he exchanged nervous glances with his attractive lady assistant.

"I'm sorry, little girl, there must be some mistake. I don't have a daughter." He gave a little laugh like the very idea was ludicrous. Then he smiled a big, warm, completely fake smile. "You run along home now. I'm sure your mother is worried sick." He shut the door in her face.

Fi clenched her fists, hating when that same swell of disappointment and hurt filled her chest even now.

 _Don't be an idiot! It's just Sabrina playing with your head._

She shook her head, like that might dislodge whatever hold Sabrina had on her.

"Okay Sabrina, you're starting to piss me off. Now get out of my head or else-"

 _Or else what?_ Could she even fight a psychic? Her hackles bristled. _No. I am not helpless._ She tried to affirm the thought, but was having trouble focusing. Or maybe that was just her eyes going hazy. Something in the air was making them water terribly. Fi rubbed her face with a sleeve and blinked hard.

The pain in her chest congealed into dread. She had moved again. Now she was back in her childhood room. The lavish prison with its plush furniture and suffocating scented candles. Her mother's effort to beautify all the medical sights and smells. Fi had tried her best to make it hers. She really had. Pokémon posters. Pokémon plushies. Bookshelves loaded with every Pokémon book she could get her hands on. But they were never enough. Nothing she did was ever enough.

 _"Next year, Fiora."_ was her mom's favorite lie. _"You can start your journey next year when you're stronger."_ Of course Fi knew now that was just a ploy to shut her up. Still, as a kid, it had fooled her for a few years. Until she turned twelve and finally started to wise up. Then, instead of begging to take a journey she knew her mom would never allow, Fi started planning more realistically. Like taking the Pokémon League exam instead. Fi spent the next two years of her life preparing for that stupid test, too. A lot of good that did. To think she'd actually let herself believe her mom would keep her word.

Fi went to the window. Then the door. Both were locked shut, bringing and involuntary swell of panic in her chest.

 _Another mind trick?_ Fi went to her dresser mirror, desperate to be sure. Her heart plummeted as a sickly pale face with glass blue eyes stared back. Her claws. Her strength. Her power was gone.

"No!" the cry burst out of her. "No! This isn't right!"

Beyond the door her mother's voice answered in her usual cruel calm. "You'll forgive me someday. I know you will. Someday. Before it's over."

"NO!"

She needed to get out. Get away. Now. She brought up a fist. Tried to slam it into the door. But she found her legs giving out instead. Fi fell to the floor with a gasp. Her head fogged with pungent carpet cleaner-and something else. Her chest spasmed as she struggled to breathe. To think. To remember that none of this was real. She had lived this once before, and it was over now. Pierce had helped her escape. Helped her find her new home and her new life. A life she had built for herself. A life no one was ever going to take from her...

She struggled up, spots swimming before her eyes. As they cleared an arena emerged before her-she in the challenger's box, Ash in the gym leader's. Beyond them seated in a plush balcony, she recognized Giovanni. He was watching the match with intense interest. Perhaps to reward whichever of them won.

Ash gave her a deranged little smile as he sent out his Pika-Rai chu.

"Well," he prompted. "What are you waiting for?"

Fi reached for her belt but found it empty. She had no Pokémon. Why? Hadn't she sworn to become a trainer? Hadn't she worked hard enough?

Ash just shook his head. "To bad. Guess you lose."

 _Lose?_ Was she seriously going to let herself lose to this little punk?

Muscles shaking with effort, Fi stepped forward from the trainers box into the arena itself. Even if it was foolish, she needed to make the Boss see. Make him understand the lesson her parents had taught her long ago. That blood ties were nothing more than an illusion. That true loyalty wasn't inherited. It was _earned._

"Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. Pika-Raichu's cheeks sparked with power.

"Pikachu!" it yelled as electricity flew from it's body.

The shock wracked through her, bringing her to her knees. Her body spasmed and she leaned over, coughing out blood.

"This can't... I can't... lose. Not like this!" Her vision was starting to blur out. Beyond her, Ash's voice commanded, "Quick attack!"

"Pi-kaa!" shouted Pika-Raichu.

It hit Fi full in the chest, slamming her backwards. She skidded and tumbed along the hard ground until she finally lay still. She clutched at her chest with frail, bony fingers, gasping for breathe as heart struggled to keep beating.

She felt a strange pressure on her hand. Strong fingers curled tight around hers.

"Fight!" a voice sounded, next to her ear and somehow far away at the same time. "Fi! Whatever your seeing, whatever your feeling... it isn't real! It's all in your mind! Do you hear me?"

 _Pierce?_

For a moment, the arena rippled around her, and she saw him as she had that first time. When he was still a nervous teenager in a cheesy appraiser disguise trying to steal some trinket from her mother's collection. Then, in a blink, she was back facing Ash. Back getting her butt kicked by some snot-nosed goodie-goodie who was going to dismantle the only real home she had ever had.

She pushed herself up onto her side with a new reserve of strength. If this was _her_ mind, why was _she_ the one losing? As if she would _ever_ let herself get beaten to the likes of the Boss's ungrateful spawn? She glared down Ash, her eyes darkening from glass blue to a vengeful blood red.

 _"Get out of my head!"_ she snarled. A deep, inhuman sound. She rose to all fours, pale white fur enveloping her skin. Sharp, hooked claws grew from fingers and toes, and a sickle shaped horn from her skull. Absol weapons. Now her weapons, too. But they were not enough. Not nearly.

She drew in deeper, willing her body to change further, beyond her own limits. Beyond her own spliced DNA's evolution.

She saw Ash take a step back, his mouth open.

"That power..." he murmured.

Fi advanced a step, her Absol body glowing with mega-evolution light. All around her the arena was starting to crumble away. But she wasn't afraid this time. This time she saw things as they really were. This illusion wasn't the Viridian City gym, and her opponents weren't Ash and Pika-Raichu. Absol's powers. All its wondrous secrets and strengths were hers now.

Before her, as the last of the psychic energy drained from her newly realized dark-type mind, she saw her opponents, Sabrina and Alakazam. Fi let loose a Perish Song howl. Alakazam reeled back, squinting in pain. Beside it, Sabrina slammed her palms over her ears. Then, in a blueish blink, they were gone.


	18. Fi's Trial

**Chapter 18: Fi's Rebirth**

She woke on a marble floor. Nearby a trace of scented ashes wafted from an extinguished marble brazier. Pierce was by her side and was the only one who seemed to notice she had woken. The rest of the room was chaos. White-garbed students ran this way and that yammering exclamations. No less than three were holding up Sabrina and trying to usher her out of the room. Two more attended her Alakazam, who was out cold.

"Wha-" Fi heard herself blurt. Her head ached dully. "How-" She propped herself up on her elbows, shocked to see one, no, all of the walls in the little chamber were now fragmented shards on the ground.

Mirrors. Shattered mirrors.

"It was the incense," Pierce said. "It was supposed to put you in a trance or something. But Sabrina didn't count on your heightened sense of smell and you passed out before she could explain."

A laugh burst out of her. She sank back down on the cool marble, aware of her tired muscles-no longer frail and useless. Aware of her sharp claws leaving little grooves in the floor's surface. And aware of the thrum in her head. Its sound was no longer invasive or threatening but part of her. Like a heartbeat. This was the power no one could take from her. No one could stop it. Not her parents. Not Sabrina. And definitely not the boss's useless so-called heir.

Pierce was still rambling. "-then you screamed and the entire room shattered. Was that... a Perish Song?"

She didn't reply. Instead, her laugh escalated until her chest ached and tears leaked from her eyes. The sound echoed eerily around the chamber, turning almost frenzied. It was, to put things mildly, immensely satisfying.

#

Sabrina stood in the Pokémon recovery room, looking over the bed where her Alakazam lay. The white wall tiles glittered with cleanliness; the floor smelled of lemon-scented chemicals. Alakazam's eyes slowly flickered open, and it turned its large head to meet her eyes.

"Alakazam... Ala...?" it said, confused. _What hit me?_ Sabrina heard telepathically.

She sighed and shook her head. _A Perish Song attack,_ she replied in her mind. _Launched by a human._

Alakazam's eyes widened in disbelief. Not that it distrusted her. It knew as well as she that lying through telepathy was near impossible. And their bond was too great for falsehoods. But even so, the reality of what it had witnessed was difficult to grasp. Sabrina struggled with it herself. It was one thing to know in theory what a person possessing Pokémon powers was capable of. Quite another to see it in person.

 _So... this is the power you want for yourself?_ Alakazam asked, interrupting her thoughts.

Sabrina nodded. _Yes. There's no more hesitation for me. I want to take my abilities to the next level. I want..._ She locked eyes with her Pokémon, the creature who had stood by her side through all her struggles. Even when her father had run off in fear of her. Even when all her friends had abandoned her. _I want to be the strongest trainer I can for you. Your equal._

 _You already are,_ Alakazam said with a smile. _But if this is your desire, you know you have my support._

Sabrina gave a nod. "I'll speak to Fiora and Pierce right away then." She raised her hand to levitate the phone towards her, only to find Alakazam had already done so. She nodded her thanks and plucked the device from the air.

Sabrina spoke to Pierce first. All pleasantries. She apologized for misjudging how quickly her incense would affect Fiora. She thanked them both for the powerful demonstration of what a merger could accomplish. And she told Pierce to make sure Giovanni contacted her as soon as possible.

She almost hung up the phone there. But when she heard a muffled second voice in the background, she couldn't resist pointing it out. "If Agent Fiora is available, I'd like to speak to her as well, please."

There was a bit of static as the phone exchanged hands. Sabrina could hear the whirling of a helicopter's blades becoming louder and louder in the background. So they were leaving already, were they? That certainly didn't take long.

"Speaking," came Fi's dazed voice.

"How are you feeling?" Sabrina asked.

Fi muttered something in coherent in reply.

"Pardon?" Sabrina asked polietly.

"I _feel_ like I got hit by a truck," Fi said. "But... surprisingly better than I did before coming here. Agent Pierce tells me you found the demonstration... enlightening."

Sabrina smiled, an excitement flickering in her chest. "Indeed. I wish you a full and speedy recovery and thank you for your

"Not a problem," Fi assured her. Her voice sounded gleeful and distance all at once. "Not a problem at all..." And with that, the line went silent.

#

Fi closed the phone, stepped into the helicopter, and immediately collapsed from exhaustion. After their hasty retreat from Sabrina's gym, Fi's manic adrenaline had ebbed away leaving her completely drained.

He took his time prepping for takeoff, careful to keep the noise down as Fi snored softly from the back seat behind him. More than once he found himself glancing back, drawn by her hypnotic breathing. An old habit from when she was ill. So many times he caught himself paying extra close attention to her every breath. Just to be sure.

After a while he found Sabrina's words also nagging at his mind. She had sounded so certain... completely positive that he and Fi were meant to be more than just friends.

It left him full of strange feelings.

The fact was, he actually had considered asking Fi to be more than friends. Many times if he was truly honest with himself. She had always seen him as more than some punk street kid or petty criminal. She had pushed him to get where he was in Team Rocket. And he had come to love her for it. But he had kept finding excuses to back off. Before the merger it was easy. Fi had told him not to get too close, and he was determined to respect her wishes. But now? Now she had a full life ahead of her. And he wanted to be part of it.

He shifted his gaze when she stirred, realizing with embarrassment that he had been watching her sleep for a solid ten minutes when he should have been concentrating on getting them home.

His eyes went back to the GPS, and he began to program their course into the auto-pilot. His fingers froze when his eye caught a bright blue mountain display and a familiar name.

 _Mount Silver. Fi's always wanted to visit there._

He drummed his fingers in temptation. He'd be breaking protocol. Enough to earn him a red flag and a pay cut. On the other hand, his merger serum was successful. They had snagged Brock, Misty and now Sabrina. If that didn't constitute a little break time, nothing did.

"Planning a trip?" Fi's voice broke the quiet, jolting Pierce like a well-aimed Thunderbolt. His hand jerked across the controls, quickly shifting the screen view.

"No. Why would you say that?"

She chuckled. "You're such a bad liar. Always have been."

"Humph." Pierce felt the back of his neck warm, but he kept his eyes steady on the GPS as Fi scooted up into the passenger seat. She reached over her head, stretching and yawning as loudly as a Snorlax before buckling herself in.

"It's just as well. I'd actually like to take a quick detour, if you don't mind."

"Oh?" Pierce arched one eyebrow. "To where?"

"A Poké Shop. Preferably one that sells Ultra Balls. 'Course I'll have to borrow your license just this once. Until I get the application sorted. And get the boss to sign off."

"Ah." He nodded his understanding, a little smile creeping onto his face. "I think that can be arranged." He would make sure it would be, in fact. He tapped his fingers on the dash as a new idea came to him. Reaching for his belt, he tried to quell the Butterfrees fluttering in his stomach as he plucked a Poké Ball free and extended it to her. "In that case... here." The Butterfree sensation soared up into his chest when he saw the emotion work across her face. "A loan," he said. "Until you catch a team for yourself."

Fi's eyes watered, which surprised him. And her too, judging from the awkward blush that pinked her cheeks as she rubbed her eyes.

Pierce pretended not to notice and quickly filled the silence. "I know it's not your typical starter, but he's fond of you, and I know he'll follow your commands."

Fi took Absol's Poké Ball in her clawed hand, staring at it with a trainer's affection. "Thank you, Pierce," she said at last. Her throat caught just a bit. "You really are too good to me."

He shrugged, moving his attention back to the controls to hide his smile. "I suppose I'm just a sentimental fool that way."

#

Sabrina hadn't even heard half a ring before Giovanni picked up the phone. Funny. It was almost like he expected her to call and was looking forward to it.

"So, what did you think?" he asked by way of a greeting. She always could count on the man to be blunt.

"I admit, I am impressed," she replied. "Consider me convinced. When can you arrive?"

His pause was quick but deliberate. Probably to give the illusion he hadn't plotted every angle of the conversation ahead of time. "Our equipment is stationed here. If you were to travel to Viridian-"

"I'm afraid I must insist on doing the procedure here. Gym responsibilities and all. Surely you understand."

He grunted. "Very well. We will prepare our equipment for travel. I can be there in a week with my staff. Does this suit your needs?"

Sabrina looked over at the calendar. The day she had already planned for Gladion to arrived was circled in thick red pen. Good to know her precognition skills had not let her down. Even if she was only human. "It suits me just fine," she said. "See you then." And she hung up the phone before she had to a chance to second guess herself.


	19. Enemies No More

**Chapter 19: Enemies No More**

Giovanni was not fond of the idea of leaving his gym tended to by idiots. But it couldn't be helped. He had to see to Sabrina's merger personally, and she had made clear she wasn't leaving Saffron City. Agent Pierce and Agent Fiora _had_ returned home, but the latter had been quite drained and needed time to recover. It seemed her strength was only increasing. Giovanni had approved her time off, of course. He would always be in favor of making his agents stronger. Still, if her furious temper increased along with her strength again, he would have to consider reducing her responsibilities.

There was something else nagging at Giovanni as he prepared to leave. Ash had been unusually compliant lately. No demands to see his friends. No lectures about how Pokémon were meant to be partners, not slaves. Giovanni had known the boy would come around eventually, but he did not expect it to be so soon. It unnerved him. So, to ease his mind, he had ordered the Rockets he was leaving behind to keep a close eye on his son and threatened them with unspeakable torture if they failed. All in a day's work.

Giovanni smiled. Perhaps it was not so unusual that Ash had stopped struggling. Brock and Misty had certainly done so. Perhaps seeing his friends lose their will to fight had broken Ash's as well. Brock's conditioning had been coming along especially nicely. Giovanni had ordered him to train against a wide range of opponents this week-everything from a tiny Noibat to a mighty Nidoking. That was one good thing about Fiora being temporarily out of commission-no droning about which Pokémon from the clinic were and were not ready for battle.

Finally setting his anxieties aside, Giovanni closed the briefcase he'd prepared and walked out of his office towards the waiting helicopter outside.

#

Ash was in his room when the helicopter took off. He watched from the huge windows until it disappeared on the horizon. Then he grinned. He'd never been the smartest kid at school or anything close. But he could make friends. And one of his friends-namely, Aquafeles-had recently gotten him a very nice present. Ash pulled a card key from his pocket and held it up to his door. The lock opened instantly. Ash slipped the card key back into his pocket and walked down the hallway, trying to look confident. Like the boss's son. Or at least, like someone who wasn't supposed to be locked in his room right now.

His plan was to find someone who looked important. Someone who had the authority to perform a merger while Giovanni wasn't there. Then, Ash reasoned, he would use his strongest, bossiest voice to demand a merger and threaten to fire the important-looking-person if they didn't listen.

It wasn't a very complicated plan, but then again, neither were most of Ash's ideas. All he knew was that he had to get this done soon. Every time Giovanni spoke to Ash, the man felt less like an enemy and more like a friend. Without a way to counter the ghost Pokémon, Ash wasn't sure if he would even still care about fighting Giovanni when he returned from Saffron City.

Ash's steps slowed. He felt a nagging voice in the back of his head. It whispered to him, told him to go back to his room as he'd been told. There was nothing for him to do here. He was only causing trouble. Ash was sure he could see dark, ghostly hands reaching from the shadows...

Then a familiar sight jolted him back to reality. Two figures approaching. Even with all the changes their mergers had put them through, Ash could recognize Jessie and James anywhere. The sight of their blue and magenta hair styles brought back strong memories- _real_ memories. Ash tried to focus on them as much as he could as he marched up to his old enemies.

"Hey," he said. It didn't sound as strong or bossy and he'd been hoping. "You guys, um... got a minute?"

Jessie paused and raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid we're busy at the moment. Good afternoon." She turned to leave.

"Wait a moment," James said, pointing curiously at Ash. "Didn't the boss say something about you having 'restricted access' while he was gone?"

Ash swallowed hard. This wasn't good. He needed a way out. A clever excuse for why he was here. But his mind drew a complete blank.

"Just inform security," Jessie said. "Let them deal with the twerp." She motioned for James to follow her down the hall. James hesitated. His hand fingered the phone on his belt, but he didn't turn it on. With a groan and a roll of her eyes, Jessie reached for her own phone.

"All right, then. _I'll_ call security," she announced.

That snapped Ash into action. "Wait! Don't!" he said, grabbing Jessie by the arm. It felt so strange; her muscles bulged, and he got the impression that if she wanted to, she could land a punch that would send him skyrocketing across the room with little effort. The way she glared at him when he grabbed her, he wouldn't have been surprised if she did it, too.

"What," she snapped, seeming to bite her tongue with every word. "Do. You. Want?"

"Sir," James said helpfully. "We're supposed to call him 'sir' now, remember?"

Jessie grit her teeth like she might explode into a fireball in front of him. "Sir," she added on with a hiss.

For his own safety, Ash quickly let go of her arm. "I'm sorry to bother you," he said. "But I don't know who else to talk to-"

"Oh, having troubles with the boss, are we?" Jessie snapped at him.

"I-" Ash began, but she clearly wasn't going to let him get a word in edgewise until she had had her full say. Apparently, she'd been building up to this for a while.

"Well, I'm so sorry to hear things aren't going perfectly," she continued. "What can we do to make your life easier, sir? Can I get you a pillow? How about a foot massage, sir? If you prefer, I think we have a dedicated shoe-licking room just down hall for esteemed executives such as yourself, sir!"

Heat flooded Ash's face. Enough. He'd had just about enough of everyone assuming how he felt about being related to Giovanni. None of them could understand. None of them were him. "Hey, I didn't ask for any of this!" he yelled.

Jessie's hands balled into fists. Ash could see the heat radiating off of them. "And I didn't ask to be... this... this thing!" Jessie yelled. The heat in her fist blossomed into an actual fireball. Instead of throwing it in Ash's face, however, she only looked at it, turned her head as if ashamed of herself, and waved the flames away. "They only said we were going to help Team Rocket," she said, voice cracking. "I thought the boss had finally started to respect us. But he only... thought of us as experiments."

Ash shifted his feet nervously. He was afraid to say anything else. But, as Misty had said, he'd never been one to hide his feelings, either. "I... think he thinks of me the same way," Ash said. "He doesn't care about me as a person. Only what I can do for him. If I don't stay in line..." He shuddered as he remembered the ghost room once again, the Shuppets and Bannettes worming their way into his mind, warping his thoughts and stealing his memories. He also shuddered at the idea of sharing DNA with them. But if it got them to go away, if it gave him an edge in this sick game Giovanni was insistent on playing...

 _If it helps save my friends, then it's worth it,_ he told himself. He looked Jessie in the eye again, stronger. More confident. He knew what he had to ask.

"I need to get a merger," he said. "And I need your help."

Jessie and James exchanged nervous glances with each other. "That's... past our authority," James finally said. Then he snapped his fingers excitedly. "Oo! But I think Pierce could do it."

Ash cross his arms. Pierce. Of course. "I don't think he'd do it," Ash said. "I don't even think he'll talk to me. Odds are, he'll just hand me off to someone less important like you two. Erm..." Ash's face went red. So much for making allies out of old enemies.

This time, however, nobody got angry with him. Jessie did let out an annoyed sigh, though. "No offense taken. Look, if you want to talk to Pierce, you should try a question only he can answer."

At this, Ash got excited. He didn't know the ins and outs of Team Rocket very well. Or at all, really. But he knew who always had to approve Ash's trips to see his friends. "I'll tell him I want to see Brock," Ash said.

Jessie and James both looked at him a moment then nodded their approval.

"Sneaky," James said, sounding proud.

"Just the way we would do it," Jessie agreed. "Well, then, twerp. Who knows? Maybe you can learn new things, after all."

"Yeah, maybe I can!" Ash said proudly.

Somehow, Jessie and James seemed less impressed.

#

The trip to Saffron City did not take long. To Giovanni's surprise, he was able to doze off for a good portion of it. There was something about all his great plans falling into place that really relaxed his mind. And anyway, there was still a chance Sabrina would put up a fight. Any rest he could get beforehand would only help his cause.

Once the helicopter landed and Giovanni approached the gym doors, he found Sabrina in the same state she had been in over the phone. The helicopter's blades had barely stopped moving before she was shaking his hand. She welcomed him inside and seemed both anxious and excited to have him. Yet perhaps it was not so strange. With the merger serum, Giovanni had created a drug unlike anything in history. Everyone from the weak to the strong craved more power. And mergers delivered in a way that nothing else could. With someone as addicted to power as Sabrina, was it really so surprising she would sacrifice her humanity for a hit as strong as this?

 _She doesn't know she's paying that price yet,_ Giovanni reminded himself. _And even if she suspects it, she knows nothing of my plans to capture her. She might think twice if she knew she would be giving up both her humanity and her freedom._

Which was why, under no circumstances, could he let his guard down or let her peek inside his mind before her transformation was complete.

#

Sabrina motioned Giovanni through the gym's inner doors. "Come in, come in," she said, as pleasantly as she could. He did enter the gym, but he did not smile. The two stood in the entranceway as Giovanni looked Sabrina over with considerable suspicion. Not that she could blame him. She knew well enough what his intentions were. He knew well enough that she could see them. By all accounts, she should have been telekenetically hoisting him up and shoving him out the window. The fact that she hadn't done so would naturally make him ill at ease.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I must say, I'm surprised you're having me here. You must want this quite badly."

Sabrina nodded. "Your agent was... quite convincing," she allowed, struggling slightly to keep up a professional demeanor. As nervous as she was about all the fallout from this, she couldn't forget why she was going through with it. Why it didn't matter to her if she became more human than Pokémon. Why Giovanni's ill intentions for her were an acceptable price to pay. All she had ever wanted from the time she was young was more power. And yet, it felt in her teenage years like she had pushed her powers to the fullest of their human limits. Being more Pokémon than human wasn't a deterrent to her. It was exactly what she wanted.

"Let's not delay any further," she said and motioned Giovanni down the hall.

There was a distinct glint in the man's eyes. It seemed he too was struggling to contain his excitement. "Yes," he agreed. "Let's get going."

They walked together down the hallway at a brisk pace until they came to the large battle area where Sabrina always allowed challengers to face her for the Marsh badge. The place had taken on a much less intimidating decor since she'd first designed it. For one thing, she had dispensed with the torches and opted instead for overhead lighting. She did keep the elegant red chair she always sat in to greet challengers. The place would have look simply uncivil otherwise.

Giovanni's staff had been granted access to the room a few hours ago, and their equipment now appeared to be fully ready. There was a long, white table and a doctor holding a silver tray with a syringe. Another held a tray of mega evolution stones. Not the full set. Only six, no doubt the ones they thought Sabrina would be the most likely to select. She hardly needed to debate the matter. She stepped over and looked over the assortment thoughtfully. She wasn't enough of a fool to grab a Mewtwoite X or Y. The genetic Pokémon's DNA was already unstable. Too risky to merge with her own. That left the Alakazite and the Gardevoirite as the only two viable options. It had been a difficult decision to make, but she was never one to change her mind, even if she had doubts now. She pointed to the white and green orb. The Rocket nodded and stepped back motioning to the table. Sabrina lay down, an odd sense of contentment washing over her. The Rockets moved about as if this was far from the first time they'd performed this procedure. A few even looked as if they were bored by it. All the while, Giovanni stood the side, wringing his hands with greed and excitement, making no more attempt to hide his true intentions. The Master Ball wasn't on his person but on the doctor with the syringe. He would have to go first.

The needle pierced Sabrina's skin. The serum flowed into her, and the touch of the mega stone sent a flash of power through her body like she'd never felt before. It was more disorienting than she thought. She reached out with her mind, attempting to shove away the doctor she knew would try to capture her. Her vision blurred, and she couldn't quite tell where he was anymore. Panic invaded her mind. No, she would not go down like this. She was Sabrina of Saffron City, the most powerful human psychic in Kanto, and Giovanni was a fool to mess with her.

With a mighty yell, she sent a blast of energy emanating in a circle around her, shoving everything back in a five-foot radius. The Rockets cried out in shock, Giovanni yelled at them to get up and go after her. Glass shattered and equipment clattered to the floor. Then, above all the commotion, Sabrina heard Gladion's voice call out loud and clear, "Sabrina! I've got you!"

She saw a blur of white and purple hurdling towards her, felt a red light beckoning her closer. She smiled and stepped towards it. She was putting her safety in Gladion's hands now. But she knew the young man well. He didn't disappoint her.

The red light swallowed Sabrina and in an instant, it was as if she had fallen asleep.


	20. Escape

**Chapter 20: Escape**

Gladion gripped the Master Ball, still warm in his hands from its capture. He'd mentally prepared himself for this moment as much as he could. But the fact remained that he'd always succeeded by hiding in the shadows, taking his opponents by surprise.

They were certainly surprised now. But as for shadows, Gladion was out of luck. He had a whole room full of Rocket grunts, crazy scientists, and one dangerous-looking man in a red suit all staring at him. He pocketed the Master Ball and bolted out the door. The grunt he'd knocked aside to get in here scrambled to stop him. Silvally gave the idiot a sharp kick to the gut and sent him flying. Gladion sprinted into the hallway.

Only a few yards behind him, he could hear Giovanni screaming obscenities at the guard who had let "some snot-nosed intruder" pass. Gladion smiled a bit at that. So Giovanni seemed oblivious as to who Gladion was or why he had broken in. Exactly the way he liked it.

Of course, Giovanni was not a complete fool. Gladion had made it into the gym only because Sabrina had allowed him access hours before Giovanni and his goons arrived. Now there were Rocket guards everywhere. Getting back out of the gym wouldn't be nearly so easy.

Gladion turned a corner, so sharply that he almost slipped and face-planted on the floor.

Sabrina had assured him that the Rockets' line-up of Pokémon would be painfully predictable. As long as Silvaly held the Psychic Memory, it and Porygon-Z could more than handle anything the grunts through at them.

"Silvally, Multi-Attack!" he called out. "Porygon-Z, Psybeam!"

Zubats, Muks, and Arboks fell in front of, one after another. Gladion barely let the battles end before he took off running again. His best bet was to plow through the muscle and avoid Giovanni altogether. Sabrina had mentioned that if Gladion did happen to encounter the Team Rocket boss, there was a slight chance the man would use a Pokémon-human hybrid against him. Gladion had no clue how to prepare for that.

Thankfully, he had reached the main foyer, and the gym's exit was right in front of him. Only two more grunts stood in his way. Gladion sent Silvally out first. But instead of attacking, one of the grunts just stared at him.

"Wait a second. There's something familiar about you!" she said.

 _She knows me?_ Gladion's blood ran cold.

The grunt pointed at him, snapping her gloved fingers in a presumably vain attempt to jog her memory. "Yeah... you're from Alola, aren't you?"

Gladion's stomach sank. Of course it would only be so long before they found him out. His mother and her work with the Aether Foundation had made headlines all over the world. How could he possibly expect to execute this mission without being recognized? Did he really think Team Rocket's henchmen wouldn't be well-informed of all the latest-

"How the heck do you know where he's from?" another grunt demanded.

His comrade motioned to Gladion. "See, this is why they only put you on small jobs," she said. "Look at him! He's got the Z-bling! That makes him an Alola kid!"

 _I've got a Z... what now?_ Relief began to pour into Gladion, his legs no longer frozen to the spot. Maybe he could escape from this, after all. As the two grunts stood arguing with each other on the exact name of Alola's signature gear, Gladion and Silvally took slow, silent steps backwards. The space between them and the exit grew smaller with each tense breath.

The argument heated up quickly, the two grunts stopping their feet and throwing their arms up in dramatic fashion. Finally, the one who'd noticed Gladion's ring to begin with pointing angrily at the spot where Gladion had been standing just a moment before.

"Look, who _cares_ what its real name is! The point is, if we know he's from Alola, we can figure out who..." She finally turned to look at where she was pointing and noticed Gladion wasn't there. Eyes wide, she frantically searched the room and spotted him darting out the door, Silvally in tow.

"Get him!" she screamed. But Gladion was already sprinting out in the open. The heart of Saffron City was an easy place to get lost in. The cool evening air had brought out tourists and locals alike, and the streets were heavy with foot traffic. A quick duck around the corner, a sidestep behind a street vendor, and Team Rocket's shouts soon became lost in the hum of passing cars, pulsing music, and lively conversation.

Once Gladion was sure the grunts weren't tailing him, he slowed his sprint to a brisk walk, called Silvally back to its ball, and pocketed his Z-ring. No point in drawing attention to himself. But now he had a problem. His plan had been to go back to Alola. Well, he still planned to go back to Alola, but now he had to deal with some potential Team Rocket spies looking for him there. Which meant it was no good going back to the Pokémon School or anywhere else public. He needed a place close to home, but still somewhere he could disappear for a while.

Gladion groaned inwardly. He knew one place he could go. And one particular person he could talk to. But he was really, really hoping he would never have to cross paths with that man again.

His hand tightened around the Master Ball in his hand, feeling the energy emanating from inside.

 _Well, Guzma always said he could take any gym leader any time,_ Gladion thought to himself. _Guess he'll find out how true that is._

#

"I want to see Brock again!" Ash demanded. Pierce was much taller than him, so he had to yell up rather than forward. But at least he had Pierce's attention now. That was the first step of his plan.

Pierce sniffed like someone had let a Trubbish loose in the room and narrowed his eyes down at Ash in disapproval. "Young man, you may be Giovanni's son, but I have my orders on how to run this facility in his absence, and I'll thank you not to scream at me."

Ash tightened his fists as Pierce walked right past him. This was not how things were supposed to go. He couldn't let himself be ignored. He followed down the hall, Aquafeles keeping pace. Ash hadn't planned to bring the water Pokémon with him, until Jessie helpfully pointed out that if Ash was supposedly asking to see Brock, it only made sense to have a translator in tow.

Pierce glanced over his shoulder and noted that Ash was shadowing him but did not comment on it for a good two minutes of hallway-pacing and corner-turning. When none of it seemed to disorient Ash or dissuade him, Pierce stopped in front of a large set of doors with intricate carvings of Rhydon and Nidoking crafted into the wood. Ash was pretty sure this was where Giovanni took gym challengers, but since he had only actually been here once, it was hard to recall.

"You are persistent, aren't you?" Pierce muttered to Ash.

Ash straightened with pride. "Sure am. And I'm not leaving until-"

"-until you talk with your friend. Yes, I understood you the first time." Pierce produced a swipe card from his sleeve and unlocked the door. As it cracked open, Ash could hear the sounds of a Pokémon battle-a roar, a squeal, the shaking of the floor at his feet. Whatever was going on in there, it was intense.

"Unfortunately," Pierce went on. "The Pokémon you are so eager to speak with is in the midst of a serious training session. But if you insist on stalking me until you are able to interact, I suggest you come in and wait until the training session is complete."

Ash stiffened. "Brock isn't a Pokémon. He's a person."

"Forgive me. I simply assumed you were identifying his species by his actual DNA and not your own sentimentality." And with that, he pushed the door fully open.

The scene that met Ash's eyes made him even less uneasy than he'd been before. Brock had always been one of the most peaceful people Ash knew. Yes, he could battle Pokémon, and pretty well, too, but he only did it when he had to. His passion was in breeding and raising Pokémon, caring for and nurturing them.

The way he was fighting when Ash entered was completely foreign. With every crash of his huge tail against the floor, Brock yelled with fury and frustration. It was like the actual act of battling was hurting him, and yet he had to do it anyway.

The Pokémon he was battling against looked just as agitated. It was a Noibat, and it flew about in wild circles, screeching and screaming more than making any actual attacks. It tried what looked like a Super Fang attack, which glanced off Brock. He quickly countered with a Rock Throw that made the Noibat tumble to the ground. The Noibat struggled to get up, but Ash could tell from its shaking limbs that its energy was gone.

A hint of a grimace crossed Pierce's face, but he quickly covered it up and clapped his hands. "This battle is over. That will be enough for now."

Brock whirled around, looking like he planned to strike Pierce next. Then, in an instant, his stone shoulders lowered, and his body relaxed, as if coming out of a trance. Ash stood nervously off to the side as Pierce reached for the door behind them. Is this what happened when a merger went too far? Would he really be able to counter Giovanni or just put himself in Giovanni's pocket more than before?

Ash was so involved in his thoughts that he didn't notice Pierce had paused in his door closing and was now stuttering a bunch of half-formed sentences into the hall. "Fi! I see the Boss approved your license. Congrat-ow!"

There was a loud bang as Fiora (or Fi, was it now?) slammed the door open, and Pierce fell to the floor. She surveyed the scene quickly-Brock still breathing heavily with the exertion of his attack, the Noibat quivering pitifully on the floor.

"What happened in here?" she whispered. Her voice hovered on the edge of calm, but her blood red eyes were furious. She hurried over to the cowering Noibat and scooped the little Pokémon into her arms. It tried to resist at first, frantic and flapping away and screeching all over again. Completely terrified. This hadn't been a Pokémon battle. Not a fair one, at any rate. Giovanni had ordered Brock to use this poor Pokémon as a punching bag.

Ash's stomach turned at the thought.

"What the HELL happened in here?!" Fiora screamed. The Noibat panicked and tumbled out of her arms. She quickly pulled an Ultra Ball from her belt and recalled it. Even once it was safely inside, the Pokémon continued to make the ball shake. Fiora said something soothing to it before placing the ball back on her belt and turning to Brock with her full wrath.

"You!" she yelled, jabbing a finger at him. "You have the gall to train against Raven? She's hardly out of her egg! What is wrong with you?"

Brock did not defend himself against the accusations. Instead, he slunk back, hugging himself as if afraid he might fall apart. He said something in his gravely voice.

"I'm sorry," Aquafeles translated. "I didn't-"

"Don't tell ME you didn't want to!" Fi yelled.

Brock said something else, sadder this time, almost chocking on his words.

Fi had no sympathy. "I don't CARE what Giovanni ordered you to do! You're a monster! You hear me? Raven might never recover from this!" She stepped backward, shaking her head as if fighting some dark thoughts. A maniacal grin spread across her face. "You know what? I think you need a taste of your own medicine. Why don't we take a trip to the pool and see how well a Steelix can _float_?" Her last few words came out as more a growl, something more Pokémon than human. She raised her hand and bore her dark, sharp claws, aiming right for Brock's face. Brock held up his arms in defense, and Ash felt himself jolted into action. He ran up and grabbed her by the arm. She snarled in frenzy and flung him aside with startling force. He toppled against Brock, barely managing to right himself. Fi drew back her arm, ready to attack him too. Then Pierce's voice called out, "Fi, enough!"

He hurried to her side she growled at him but finally stayed her hand when he touched her shoulder. Brock made no more attempt to defend himself. He almost looked like he _wanted_ Fi to attack. To punish him for hurting the Noibat? Ash shook his head. No, none of this had been Brock's fault. Giovanni was to blame. For everything. Ash had to stop him no matter what.

Piece was speaking calmly to Fi, reminding her that Brock had a much larger percentage of Pokémon DNA than she did, and it was impossible to know the true effect that was having on Brock's mind. Fi shoved it all off and pushed Pierce out of her way as she headed for the door, muttering something about how healing Raven was more important than dealing with Brock right now.

Suddenly, her piercing gaze fell to Ash again, and he felt like the whole room had gone cold.

"Don't think I've overlooked you," she snarled. "You are everything that's wrong with this place. And the moment I get the chance, I am going to rip you to pieces!"

Ash stood shaking, Aquafeles hiding behind his legs. The whole room was painfully quiet. He hadn't expected any of this. Yet he still had an opportunity right here and now. If he didn't take it, when would he get a better chance? "A bit of an unfair fight, don't you think?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Excuse me?"

He coughed loudly. He was trying to sound calm, like he wasn't shaking all over. It sounded more like he was fighting a cold. "I said, you ripping me apart wouldn't be a fair fight. You know... you being half Pokémon, and me being... not at all Pokémon."

She fingered the Ultra Ball on her belt, eyes darting between Ash and the door.

"You want to fight, I'm happy to fight," Ash pressed. His eyes were also on the Ultra Ball. That Noibat needed healing. He had to make this quick. But he also had to get Fi mad. Which meant he couldn't let slip that he was just as worried about the little Pokémon as she was.

"Giovanni says I can't handle a merger," Ash went on. "I say I can. You and Pierce authorize it. Then you and me... we can fight just like you want."

Brock yelled something.

"What do you think you're doing, you idiot?" Aquafeles exclaimed. Then, after a moment, it added, "Your friend's question. I added the idiot part. Because you're an idiot!"

"This is no concern of yours!" Pierce snapped. "PokéBalls. Now."

Brock quickly complied. His head bowed and his body faded into a flash of red light as he returned to his Master Ball. Pierce retrieved the ball from the floor, stance calm, but hands shaking.

Aquafeles growled and walked towards the door. "I'm going, I'm going," it muttered, pulling the door open a crack with its paws. "But you better know what you're doing... idiot." It got out that last word right before Pierce slammed the door shut once again.

"Fi," he said solumnly. "You know the boss specifically told us not to do a merger on his son."

Fi's lip curled. "Yes and clearly the boss hasn't been making very rational decisions lately, has he?"

A rare hint of emotion broke Pierce's normally unreadable expression. "No. I suppose he hasn't."

"Someone needs to show him what real loyalty is. What his _real_ family is willing to do for him. So tell me, what does it prove if I beat his little heir senseless when he's still a helpless human? I want to beat him at full strength. Pokémon against Pokémon."

Pierce held her eyes. "But If I go through with it-directly disobey the boss's orders-I'll lose everything."

Fi gripped his shoulders. "If we let this kid take over Team Rocket, we'll _all_ lose everything, Pierce. Which is exactly why I have to do this."

Fi was good. No doubt about it. Ash watched as Pierce glanced his way on last time, then sighed. "Just promise me you'll win."

Fi's mouth curved into a smug smile as she leaned up to kiss Pierce on the cheek. "Of course." Then she turned for the door. "I'm taking Raven to recovery. Then I'll meet you two in the lab." Her eyes fixed on Ash and her smile narrowed cruelly. "Choose wisely."


	21. Fifty-Fifty

Raven was recovering nicely. The little Pokémon had a lot of spirit. Not unlike Fi herself. She authorized the staff to dip into the boss's supply of Max Revives, Full Restores, and tasty Vitamins. Whatever Raven needed to feel herself again, that was what she was going to get. Fi smiled and stroked the little Pokémon the head as it lay on soft white pillow on a recovery table. It gave a friendly purr and nuzzled against her finger.

"Noibat... Noi..." it said lovingly.

She smiled back at it. "Good to see you, too. I could use a friendly face right now." She lowered her head a bit, images flickering in her head, making her temper flicker to life, even as she kept a calm demeanor around her winged friend.

"Noi?" the Pokémon asked, cocking its head.

Fi smiled. "Nothing you need to worry about," she said.

Raven pouted. It didn't like when Fi tried to keep secrets from it.

 _Fair enough._ Fi sighed. "I need to prepare for a battle. The most important one of my life."

At the word "battle," Raven said up eagerly. "Noi-noi? Noi-noibat!" it squeaked.

"What?" Fi cried. "No, absolutely not. There's no way you're fighting any battles until at least the end of the week!"

Raven screeched angrily, flapping its wings and even baring its tiny, sharp teeth at her. She'd never seen it so passionate.

"Sorry," she said firmly. "But you're just not strong enou-"

She stopped short, chest burning. Those words. How many times had she heard this speech? Only it was always someone else giving it to her. Telling her she was too weak. Too fragile. How she couldn't handle it. And now she was going to turn around and do the same thing to a Pokémon? One of the few allies she had in this place?

She pulled out her radio. "Fi here. What's the ETA on the boss's return?"

There was a buzz of static before a grunt answered, "Complications in Saffron City. Target is loose. Expect at least forty-eight hour delay.

Forty-eight hours. This was perfect. Fi had no idea how Giovanni had managed to let Sabrina slip through his fingers. The lady was practically begging for a merger when Fi left, and surely after Misty and Brock, the boss had enough experience with overdosing humans to get that part of it right.

Perhaps his grunts had messed something else. The man was brilliant, but he could only compensate for his lackies' incompetence so much. He was too soft on them. That would change when Fi became his heir. She grinned at the thought. Then she turned her radio on again.

"Pierce, how we looking on the merger?"

More static. Then she heard Pierce's voice loud and clear, "The subject is here. We can go at anytime." There was the sound of footsteps, what might had been the squeal of a door hinge, and then Pierce spoke again, his voice much softer. "I'll keep the percentage as low as I can."

"What?" she exclaimed, then covered her mouth, not wishing to bother Raven as it rested. Quieter (though not exactly calmer), she said, "You're supposed to do the opposite. Get as close to fifty percent as you can. I want to fight as at my full strength and his."

Pierce didn't answer right away; Fi wondered for a second if he'd cut the connection. Then, he spoke again. "If I go over fifty percent, he's a Pokémon, not a human. And a Pokémon can't be the boss's heir. Your fight will be pointless."

"As I'm well aware," she said. "So I'm counting on you and your lab lackies to get it right." She looked back Raven, now sleeping contentedly on the pillow, a fiery passion still written on its face. She couldn't deny it this battle. If Raven felt it could fight, then it would fight, and Fi would guide it.

She grinned. Ash was going down in flames, and her closest Pokémon would be the first to light the fire.

On the radio, she heard the swing on the door hinge again, followed by some incoherent mumbling. "Hang on, one more question," Pierce said. "Ash wants to know when you plan to have this battle."

Fi looked at the clock. 9am. It wouldn't leave a lot of time to prepare, but it would be enough.

"In thirty-six hours," she said. "The Viridian Gym challenge stadium. Tell the brat not to get lost on the way." With that, she shut the radio off and stretched her muscled arms above her head. The odds might have been in her favor, but there was a lot of preparation to do.

#

Ash sat on the end of a medical table, watching Pierce muttering something into a radio. Anxiously, he tapped his heel against the table's corner. What was it Pierce had to talk about? Couldn't they just get this over with? If he and Fi were going to fight in thirty-six hours, he needed to be as prepared as he could.

Pierce pocketed the radio, then accepted a white lab coat, face mask, and gloves from one of his assistances, all of whom were already wearing the same thing. Ash's anxiousness eased. _Time to get started._

"You'll be restrained during the transformation process," Pierce said, sounding bored as he snapped the gloves on. "Strictly for the safety of my staff. When the process is complete, you will be released. Clear so far?"

"Completely," Ash replied.

Pierce closed up the coat and put the mask on, which muffled his voice a bit, but not so much he couldn't be understood. "You'll receive an injection of the serum first. Then you will have to hold the Mega Stone corresponding to your chosen Pokémon." He gestured, and one of the lab technicians stepped forward with a tray. Ash couldn't resist. For just a moment, he imagined what it would be like to have each of these amazing Pokémon's DNA in his veins. To have fists of steel like Lucario. Or to soak up sunlight for energy like Venusaur. Or to soar across the sky with Charizard's wings.

But none of these would do anything if Giovanni's ghost Pokémon could still get into his head. He needed immunity against them. And for that, he only had one option. He pointed to the Banettite. Oddly enough, it was pink, with stripes of gray and yellow at its center.

The technician looked confused. "Did you... mean this one?" he asked, pointed to another pink-ish one. The Diancite.

Ash shook his head. "No. I'm merging with this one." He pointed again, and just to make sure there was no mistake, he added, "With Banette."

The technician shrugged his shoulders and separated the orb from its fellows, handing the tray to an assistant to deal with. "Very well."

No one really talked too much after that. The Banettite was placed aside, and Ash was laid back on the table, his arms and legs restrained. Ash wondered... if he took on enough of the ghost-type's characteristics, could he just phase through the straps now holding him down. He tried to smile at the thought, but somehow losing that much of his humanity wasn't really amusing him.

Misty had described the merging process to him during one of their chats. So the cold didn't take him by surprise. He tried to imagine it was like that time he'd walked through a blizzard, holding his Pokémon and protecting them. Actually, if he thought about it, he'd probably done that several times. His friends always told him he didn't the stupidest stuff for Pokémon. And he didn't disagree with them. He also didn't care. Pokémon were his life. And this was the best way he had to protect them. Protect his human friends, too.

As the cold engulfed him, he saw the head scientist hold out the pink and gray orb to him. Even though Ash's fingers shook, he grabbed it without hesitating. The effect was immediate. He felt a burst of energy coursing through him. His skin glowed, just like a Pokémon's would during evolution. His whole body began to ache, his breathing became shallow, and for a moment, the edges of his mouth turned upward as if trying to mimic Banette's unnaturally wide grin.

"Good, good," Pierce said. "Keep going."

The pain grew more intense, and Ash screamed. The sounds around him were drowned out by what sounded like a rushing wind in his ears. But he knew the scientists were talking. Anxiously. Exchanging numbers and making calculations.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, the pain left him. He lay on the table taking heavy breaths. His body felt lighter. He wasn't grinning anymore. Was the transformation over? He opened his eyes and looked around. His skin was no longer glowering, but the cold sensation hadn't left him. And the lights... they were too bright. He wanted darkness.

Ash put up his hand to shield his eyes, only to find his hand was now gray and clawed. He looked down to see most of his arms had turned the same color. And his fingers shook at the sight.

"What's the percentage?" Pierce was asking.

There was a lot of typing on a keyboard before anyone gave an answer. "Fifty," the technician finally said.

Pierce gave a long pause. "Fifty what?" Pierce finally asked. He sounded terrified.

"Just... fifty, sir. Point zero. As fine as I am able to calculate."

 _Fifty... I'm exactly half human and half Pokémon._ He should have been happy. This would give him the most amount of Banette's strength while still keeping him his place as Giovanni's heir. And his mind felt clear for the first time in days. But all Ash could think about was Brock and Misty's warnings. About what it felt like when you weren't human anymore. Ash didn't cry out or yell in fury. But all the same, he felt like he was in mourning.

He would use that feeling. The feeling of loss. He would turn it around and defeat Fi once and for all.


	22. Raven Vs Pikachu

There was something about preparing for the battle of her life that made the next thirty-six hours fly by for Fi. She still slept and ate normally, of course. It would have been foolish not to. That was the trouble with Diva and Dunce. They knew Ash was an idiot and thought it gave them a free pass to make things up as they went, never realizing that they themselves were also idiots.

This match was too important to leave anything to dumb luck or chance. She'd trained, leveled herself, leveled Raven, and turned herself into perfection. This was for Team Rocket. For Fi's new family. For her new life.

She breathed smoothly and deeply in the center of the gym floor. Her keen ears picked up on the swing of the door's hinges. She glanced at her watch. Ash was ninety seconds late. But she was feeling generous. She would let it slide.

The Rocket grunt guarding the door closed it slowly. With a final reassuring stroke of the three Pokéballs on her waist, Fi straightened and greeted her opponent.

"Are you ready?" she said.

Ash looked up. She hadn't seen him since his transformation, and there was a stark difference. The whites of his eyes were now pink with black, slitted pupils. His movements were smoother, more elegant. His hands were gray, clawed, and ghostly. When Pierce had told her Ash had selected Banette as the Pokémon to merge with, she'd thought he was pranking her. Surely Ash would have picked some sort of starter Pokémon. Or better yet, insisted on merging with something that didn't even have a mega stone. But here he was, Banette's creepy eyes starting at her.

There was something else different about him, too, though Fi struggled to pinpoint it. His figure still looked human. Then again, with the Team Rocket executive uniform-all long sleeves and baggy pants-it could be difficult to tell. Maybe it was his stance or his expression. Yes... The childlike innocence and naiveté was gone. Which made sense, if she thought about it. Ghost Pokémon, even the pranksters, seemed to sense death and loss on the horizon, and it surrounded them with a somber aura. That same aura emanated off Ash now. He was determined but not hopeful. Just how she liked it.

Of course, a ghost type against a dark type was a terrible match up no matter what Ash's attitude was. This wouldn't even be a competition. But she had given him every opportunity to prepare himself to face her. Not her fault he choose poorly.

"Pika-pi!" Fi glanced at the door. Ash's companion came in, calling out his name and its encouragement. Misguided, but sweet.

On her belt, Fi's phone buzzed, rattling the Pokéball beside it. She tapped it off, then removed the phone from the belt, thinking to mute it. However, it immediately began to buzz again. Pierce's number. She scowled and tapped it on.

"What?" she snapped. "I'm a little busy here."

"I just got word," Pierce said. He sounded out of breath. "They've given up the search for Sabrina. The boss is on his way back."

 _Crap,_ Fi thought. If he walked in on this battle, he might try to stop it. She had to have Ash utterly defeated by the time the boss returned. Which meant she had to move quickly.

"Thanks for the heads-up," she said and started to hang up before Pierce got out a quick,

"You're welcome. And good luck."

She smiled widely. "Thanks," she said. "I don't need it." Then she hung up and turned the phone off. No more distractions.

"I appreciate you coming," she announced, stretching her arms wide. The stadium was massive-solid stone flooring, a huge high ceiling, and no windows anywhere in sight. It was made for Pokémon to get rough.

Ash didn't seem to appreciate it. "Sure," he muttered. "Now let's get started."

With a graceful nod, Fi tapped her belt. "A three-on-three battle," she announced.

Ash's eyes went wide. "But... I thought this was one-on-one!"

Of course he did. She'd heavily implied it. But he'd never actually asked her to confirm. Ergo, she was free to make whatever rules she liked. "Three-on-three," she repeated, then held out her hand, indicating Pika-Raichu. "Though you can certainly make it three-on-two, if you like."

His ghostly gray hands tightened into fists. "You have all my Pokémon," he said through gritted teeth.

"Technically, the boss's Pokémon," she said. "But as he's still out of town, I don't think it's unfair for you to use one of them." She reached for her belt, removing a purple Master Ball from among the normal-colored Pokéballs. With a quick flick of her wrist, she tossed it to Ash, and to her surprise, he actually caught it. His hands were corporeal, then. In other words, they could hurt her. Ash looked down at the ball in his hands, running a clawed finger over the M on the front. He'd seen the depressed state Brock was in, so he probably had a good idea which of his friends was resting inside. He said nothing, put the ball onto his on belt, and adjusted his hat. "One last question," he said. "Can we use TMs?"

Fi raised an eyebrow. An interesting question. Which one did he plan to use? Curiosity ate at her, and she couldn't resist. "One TM for each of us," she said. "Now or mid-battle. Your choice."

He nodded and Fi watched carefully as he pulled a small box with the number 17 clearly emblazoned on the lid.

 _Protect?_ She wanted to laugh but kept it together. She did have some TMs on hand but saw no reason to change her own move set at the last second. When the dust from the TM settled, Ash gave a small sneeze and waved to Fi to let her know he was ready. The grunt guarding the door raised his hand.

"This will be a three-on-three battle," he announced. "Ash Ketchum versus Fiora-"

"Fi!" Fi snapped.

The grunt swallowed hard. "M-my apologies. Versus Fi Bloodstone Sycamore. Choose your first Pokémon!"

Fi's hand was already on the Pokéball. She gave it a toss, and in a flash of white light, Pierce's Absol appeared with a howl.

Ash, being his predictable self, pointed to Pika-Raichu and ordered it onto the field. Since neither of them were battling themselves just yet, Fi and Ash both retreated to the edges of the gym to allow their Pokémon the full use of the gym's space.

Fi smiled. "Let's start off with a Swords Dance," she said.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. Pikachu rushed forward. Fi gritted her teeth. It was fast, even for a bulky-looking thing. She'd been hoping to get this first move, but if she and Ash had both trained their Pokémon in speed, it was obvious who would win.

Then, Ash added on a command that made no sense whatsoever. "Aim for its horn!"

"What?" Fi exclaimed. But Pokémon electric Pokémon dutifully leapt into the air and let out a mighty blast of electricity, focusing its attack directly on Absol's horn. The dark Pokémon let out a yowl of pain but stood its ground. It then braced itself, winds whipping up around it as it performed the Swords Dance move, bringing its attack power to fantastic heights. But the Thunderbolt had clearly taken a lot out of it. And if Ash's Pokémon went first again...

Fi gritted her teeth. "Quick attack," she ordered.

Absol gave a bark of approval and quickly jumped in, doing some serious damage to Ash's Pokémon. But when Ash let out the command of "Thunderbolt!" a second time, Absol lost the energy for a third attack and fell to the ground.

"Absol is unable to-" the grunt began.

"I know that, you idiot!" Fi barked at the grunt. He lowered his head, hopefully finally realizing just how useless he was. She called Absol back and thanked it for a job well done. Then she glared at Ash.

"What the heck was that?" she demanded. "'Aim for the horn'?"

Ash smiled. Not his wide goofy grin, but the closest he'd come to it since entering the gym. "I used it on a Rhydon once, and it worked really well," he explained. "I figured it was worth trying again."

Fi's jaw slackened. He was so stupid, she could barely get a sentence out. "You used it on a-Rhydon's a ground type!"

The fact seemed completely lost on him, so Fi gave up explaining and reached for her next Pokéball. _Next he's going to tell me about the time he attacked the darkness with a Mega Punch._

Again, there was a flash of light, and this time, it was Raven who appeared on the field. The little Noibat was happy and excited, and to Fi's great relief, very much healthy. She grinned and pointed forward. "Let's see... I could use Wing Attack..."

Ash looked hopeful, which made Fi laugh.

"Oh, wow. You actually thought I would do it? Too bad I know how _type match-ups_ work!" She pointed forward. "Raven, crunch attack. Aim for its tail!"

Ash startled, apparently forgetting they were still in mid-battle and stumbled over giving his Pokémon its next order. "Um... Pikachu, Skull Bash!"

Pika-Raichu lowered its head, readying its attack and raising its defense. But Raven flew around it, snatching up the lightning-bolt shaped tail and chomping down hard. Pika-Raichu yelped in pain and fell to the side, where Raven finished the attack by yanking hard before releasing its grip. Pika-Raichu flew backwards, smacking into one of the gym walls. It tried to stand but its uneasy legs gave out, and it fainted.

Fi put her hands on her hips, gleaming with satisfaction. "Hey, what do you know? It does work!"

Ash ran to his Pokémon and scowled at her. (Really, he _did_ remember he'd been ordering his own Pokémon to electrocute hers, didn't he? Battles were hardly a safe ground.) Thankfully, Pika-Raichu came to quickly with a revive and stood off to the side, cheering its master on.

Ash gritted his teeth. His hand was on the Master Ball now. "I won't battle unless she wants to," he said.

"Suit yourself," Fi said, shrugging.

And with that, Ash threw the Master Ball. It broke open to a brighter light than the other two. Misty's figure emerged from the light, uncrossing her arms as if she'd been sleeping in a fetal position. She straightened, looking around the gym in confusion. She balanced herself well, despite the lower half of her body being clearly suited to the water. When she seemed to recognize she was in a battle area, she looked behind her and locked eyes with Ash. Her initial smile at seeing her friend faded.

"You... went through with the merger," she said. Not judgmental. But not happy with him, either.

"Yeah," he said, sounding equally unhappy with himself. "But it's going to be okay. I promise. We just need to win this battle against Fi, and-"

"We?" Misty asked, a playful tease in her voice. That probably went over his head, too.

"I-I mean... if you want to... if you'll help me..." he managed to stutter out.

Misty smiled. "I'm on your side," she said, then turned on Raven. The little dragon Pokémon was eagerly bouncing up and down, ready for its next opponent.

"All right," Ash said, turning his hat. The motion seemed to be a thing with him. "Let's open with... Water Gun!"

Misty looked deflated. "Or... how about something a little stronger?" she suggested.

Ash lowered his head. "Right. Your call."

Fi felt her confidence returning. It was true that a Gyrados-merged human would be a tough opponent for herself and Raven. But she never backed down before and had no intention of starting now.

Raven was still jumping around wildly, almost as if there was so much energy in its body that it couldn't contain itself. Then its wings began to glow. The white light spread across its back, face, and chest as Raven's body grew. Its wings stretched out to twice... three times their previous length. Its aggressive yaps became deep-throated roars. Its ears stretched out to catch even the faintest sound. Then the light faded, and Raven was no longer a Noibat. It was a Noivern. Lavender fur had gone black, and its purple wings flashed a blu-ish green. Misty looked over her new opponent, now a bit green-looking herself.

Fi couldn't resist. She belted out a wild laugh that echoed all around the gym. "You want to fight?" she said. "Okay, then. Time to fight!"


	23. Misty Vs Fi

As much as Fi wanted to quickly grind Misty into a pulp, she did allow her a moment to whisper her moveset to Ash, no doubt with some potential suggestions as well. Pathetic, really. The boss's kid couldn't even figure out how to battle without someone holding his hand.

 _Don't let your guard down,_ she told herself. Noivern was a dragon type, after all. Helpfully resistant to a Gyrados's water-based moves but not so much against its dragon-type moves. But as long as she struck fast and hard, it didn't matter what Misty knew. _Actually,_ she thought. _Maybe I'll take that one free TM-use, after all._ She reached onto her belt. She always kept a spare of this particular TM around. You never knew when you needed an extra boost of strength, after all. Raven obediently lowered its head as Fi broke the box open and sprinkled the powder over its fur.

"The time-out has ended!" the referee grunt called. "The battle will resume!"

Misty made her way to the center of the gym again. Raven spread its wings, showing its full strength.

Fi grinned. For pure strength, only one move made sense.

"Raven, Hyper Beam!" she commanded.

At the same time, Ash yelled out, "Misty, Ice Beam!"

The two massive rays of energy shot straight for each other, building into a ball of light in the center of the gym. The grunt like out a childish cry, and bits of stone flew across the gym floor. Fi grit her teeth in frustration.

 _That brat knows an ice move? Crap! Crap! Crap!_ The building ball of energy only grew as both opponents put their all into their attacks. Eventually, though, they could no longer maintain such a level of energy output, and the attacks ended, causing the ball between them to expand and explode with the collective force of both attacks. A heavy mist filled the air. Raven and Misty were shoved backwards. Fi heard the satisfying sound of Misty crying out in pain. But she also felt a dangerous chill fall over her own side of the gym.

When the mist cleared, Misty was still standing, though her arms showed wide burns where the hyper beam had landed on her. Raven was curled into a ball, ice coating its wings. It let out a soft whine and fell to the ground, unable to battle.

Fi swore as she recalled her Pokémon. So it was all up to her, then. That was fine. That was how it should have been from the beginning. She stepped forward and showed her claws.

Misty was smiling. Which move would she try next? Another Ice Beam? Perhaps her own Hyper Beam attack? Whichever it was, Fi was ready to give this brat a taste of her own medicine. And she had the perfect move to do it with.

Ash raised his hand to give Misty her next direction. "Misty, Thunderbolt!"

Glee pulsed through Fi's veins and she grinned, showing her sharp teeth. "Me first!" she hissed. Her body moved like lightning. Even as energy built up around Misty, it built around Fi faster. She could feel her claws itching to release it, and she pointed forward with a mighty yell.

There was no clashing of attacks this time. The bolts of lightning hit Misty and she let out a horrific cry, instantly falling to the ground. Fi straightened and grinned at her work. Ash was at his girlfriend's side, crying out to her.

"Misty! Misty, are you okay? Answer me!" Like with his other Pokémon, he quickly administered a Revive, though Misty still seemed quite out of it. She smiled weakly at him.

"Sorry... I couldn't help more," she whispered. Then she closed her eyes once again as the red light of her Pokéball pulled her inside. Ash stood, flashing his red eyes at Fi. He actually looked angry. How adorable.

"That was a dirty trick!" he said.

She laughed. "Excuse me? Don't blame me for your own stupidity in using a move your Pokémon has a double weakness to." She showed him her claws. "Now, I believe I have one more opponent to take down."

Ash nodded and stepped forward. His face was solid determination. "I can beat you, you know," he whispered.

His confidence infuriated her. "Dream on," she growled back.

"Ready?" the grunt called out. "Start!"

Ash began on the defensive. He took a jump backwards and held his hands out in front of him. So easy. Of course he'd use his pathetic TM move first. "Protect!" he yelled out.

But Fi was ready for him. "Perish Song," she said and threw her head up to the ceiling. Her vocal chords seemed to warp, letting out a horrific, unearthly cry. It pierced through every bone and muscle in her body, weakening them, reminding them their time to fight was limited. It was the disaster's Pokémon truest move.

Dizziness spread through her and she forced herself to stand. To see the same misery she'd just felt inflicted on her opponent. Ash was doubled over, his ghostly hands over his ears, his face contorted with pain. "But... but..." he was whimpering. "I protected myself..."

"Protect doesn't shield you from Perish Song," she told him, then held out her hand with three fingers splayed. "Three rounds. The song is inside your mind and body now, and it will only get more painful as each round passes."

Ash got a smug look on his face. "But the song effects you, too. And neither one of us can switch out. So if we're both going to faint in three rounds-" he pointed triumphantly at her. "-you're clearly faster than I am, and you'll faint first. I'll win the match."

Fi crossed her arms, unimpressed. "Except I don't need three turns to beat you. I'll do it two. And enjoy watching you suffer for each one of them!" She lunged forward, readying her next attack, knowing he couldn't protect himself this time.

Ash pulled back his fist. "Oh, yeah? Sucker punch!"

The move's speed blew past her and her shoulder blossomed with pain when his fist connected. Impressive, for a dark-type move. But at the same time the move hit, Fi felt her strength magnified. She focused on that feeling, letting the pain fade away.

Ash pulled back his fist nervously. "What the-" he stuttered.

"Ah, I should have mentioned. It seems I have Absol's ability Justified. Gives me a little power boost after taking a dark-type hit." She raised her claws. "Night Slash!" She swiped at him. _Through_ him, it felt like. But it wasn't like attacking flesh. More like attacking a thick, noxious cloud. Did his body shift from solid to incorporeal when threatened? Maybe. But the Dark-type attack still clearly took its toll on him. He staggered backwards, clutching his stomach and moaning, as surely as if he'd taken a solid punch there. One more move and he'd be-

Fi frowned. _No, he wants to draw this battle out. He'll protect the next round. I have to plan for that._ She breathed deeply, resisted the temptation to try to rip him apart where he stood. "Swords Dance," she said, so softly she barely heard herself.

"Protect!" Ash grunted, holding his hand out in front of him again. Of course, it affected nothing. Wind swirled around Fi, filling her with even more power than she'd had with the Justified boost. The match was practically decided. Ash was out of options. The Perish Song count was at one. He could protect again, but it only had half the chance of working. He could try to take her down, but what did he have that would work against her? Another Sucker Punch was his best bet, and while it would hurt, Fi could take it. She knew she could. And it would only fuel her final attack against him. She would hurt him so badly he'd never stand again. Then the boss would finally see who his true heir should be!

"Night Slash!" she roared and lunged forward.

Ash looked up at her with those fragile, desperate red eyes. His whole body shook with fear. His lips moved, whispering his final move: "Phantom Force."

And then he was gone. Fi's attack ripped through the empty air, the sheer force of it shattered a mighty crack in the stone floor. But her target had vanished. She could sense him around her, taunting her. Then the power in her started to drain away.

"No!" she cried. "No, no, no, NO!"

She screamed in fury and agony, but the effects of her song didn't care. She fell to her knees. Ash reappeared, his attack thwarted by Perish Song's effects on his own body. But it was just like he had said... Fi was faster. The song took her first, swallowing her into darkness. Into failure.


	24. Ash Vs Giovanni

_a/n: Hi, everyone! Well, this is it. The final chapter. A few readers pointed out some mistakes in the last chapter, one of which was the fact that we'd mis-labeled Sucker Punch as a fighting-type move, not a dark-type move. This has been corrected, along with a few other errors, and we hope it didn't hurt anyone's enjoyment of the chapter otherwise._

 _The final chapter is a bit open-ended. We'd like to have the possibility of creating more stories in this world, but we still wanted to bring Ash's conflict with Giovanni to a satisfying conclusion. We hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading!_

#

 **Chapter 24: Ash Vs. Giovanni**

Ash was laying in a forest. At least, that's what it felt like. His eyes were closed, but he could feel cold, wet stone against his back and heard a distant whispering sound like the wind. Water trickled on his face, too, irritating him. He raised a hand to swipe it away. Then the wind sound became more distinct, and Ash could hear actual words.

"He's coming to! He's waking up!" It was a male voice, but not Brock's...

 _James?_ he thought. His eyes flickered open. He wasn't outside, and there was no stream dripping water onto him. That had been Aquafeles, spitting tiny Water Gun attacks at his face. Its cheeks bunched up as it prepared another one. Ash jolted up and held out his hands. "It's okay! It's okay! I'm awake!" he said quickly.

Aquafeles _hmphed_ and spat the water to the side instead. Someone called out, "Hey, watch where you aim that thing!"

Ash turned, full of excitement. "Brock?" he asked.

And it was Brock. He had his arms folded, waiting off to the side, but now he uncrossed them and moved forward, the rock-snake tail pushing him along. He wasn't smiling, exactly, but relief filled his face. Jessie and James stood beside him, Jessie trying her best to look annoyed while James gave an audible sigh.

"Well, at least we aren't getting fried for knocking the boss's kid unconscious," he said. Then he looked thoughtfully at the ceiling. "Although we may still get fried for setting up this battle in the first place."

Ash lowered his head. He hadn't really thought through what this battle would cost everyone. Most times, he didn't really think through anything. But now that the battle was won, he had to use what leverage he could to make everyone's situation better. To take Team Rocket apart.

Ash turned to Brock. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Brock laughed a bit. "You're the one who passed out from a Perish Song attack, and you're asking me if I'm okay?" He shook his head in that _Ash-is-hopeless_ way all of Ash's friends seemed to know. "I'm getting there. Thank you for asking."

"No prob-hey!" Ash gasped. "I can understand you now!"

Brock nodded. "So it seems. I guess you have just enough Pokémon DNA in your veins to comprehend their language." He frowned, his features going serious, like he was about to give a lecture. "You do know how reckless this was, right?"

"Yeah," Ash admitted, rubbing the back of his head. He looked back at the gym, which had been a massive battle zone only a few minutes before. The grunt who had refereed their match was now tending to Fi, who was still wiped out from her own attack. Ash felt sorry for her. She'd obviously gone through a lot. Maybe there was a way to mend things... make friends with her... someday.

Just as the thought went through his mind, the hallway outside echoed with pounding footsteps.

The gym door swung open, almost smacking James in the face. As if on instinct, Brock moved in front of Ash, blocking whoever was entering from fully seeing him. Ash shoved his clearly non-human hands in his pockets and lowered his head, the brim of his hat shadowing his face.

Giovanni stormed into the gym. "What's going on here?" he demanded.

"N-nothing, boss!" Jessie said quickly, also blocking the way for Giovanni to get a good look at Ash.

"W-we were just, um... supervising a little match," James stuttered. It must not have been a good explanation, Ash thought. When Giovanni took a step back and surveyed the damage-the mangled floor, Fi unconscious farther back, he was growling like an offended Ursaring.

"And did I authorize a match?" he asked quietly. Dangerously.

Ash swallowed hard. "I did," he said. "To test myself against Fi." He kept his voice loud and defiant. Just the right tone to get Giovanni mad.

It worked. "And what did you do to this place in the process? You destroyed half my gym, boy!" he snapped.

Ash felt the Banette-like grin trying to ease its way onto his face. He fought to keep his expression nuetral-and to protect his secret. "Yeah," he said. "And it was fun, too!"

He wished he could look up and see Giovanni's face, because from the way the man was seething, it sounded like he was about to explode.

"My. Office. Now," he said, barely controlled. And with that he stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Ash winced at the sound and looked up to see a dent in the doorknob. So much for Ash being the only one to damage the building. But right now, he had other things to worry about. He took a deep breath and thanked everyone in the room-his friends-for their help. _Are Jessie and James my friends now?_ It felt too strange a thought to consider. At least in the moment. Instead, he focused on getting himself to his father's office without giving himself away.

#

When Ash entered Giovanni's office, the man was already holding open the door to where the ghost Pokémon were waiting. Ash kept his head low, trying to look scolded. The dark in the room would hide his Pokémon-like features much better than the well-lit office. Or maybe he just didn't care for light the way he used to.

In either case, he hurried to his usual seat in the back, relishing the darkness as the door closed.

"Now, then," Giovanni said, taking his own seat on the opposite side of the room. "Why don't we begin with you telling me what gives you the right to hold a match in my gym without my permission?" He sounded calmer now. The guy did seem to find exerting control over others to be incredibly relaxing. When other people went to spas or on vacations, Giovanni tortured his subordinates.

 _Not for much longer,_ Ash told himself. He could feel the ghost Pokémon in the room coming near him, but he no longer felt uncomfortable in their presence. The cold touch of their fingers on his shoulder was as familiar and comfortable as Pikachu taking its place there.

Then Ash felt a string of sadness, remembering Pikachu would hardly fit in that place anymore. Distractions. He had to focus.

"I'm waiting," Giovanni prompted.

"What's the point of talking?" Ash asked. "You're just going to have the Shuppets and Banettes attack my mind again, right? Why not start with that and save us both some time?"

Maybe it had been too bold a move. Maybe he'd now made Giovanni suspicious. But there was nothing he could do to take back his words.

And after a moment's hesitation, he heard Giovanni give a soft, evil-sounding chuckle. "Why not indeed?" he asked. "Well, you may be a defiant brat, but at least you're an efficient one."

Ash heard the fabric of Giovanni's fancy red suit shift around as the man lifted his arm. He whispered something Ash couldn't make out, and more ghost Pokémon began to gather around. Ash listened to their mutterings among each other, but even with his new flair for understanding Pokémon language, their words weren't completely clear. He got a sense of confusion, though... of knowing what they had been asked to do but unsure of how to do it. They were supposed to manipulate a human's mind. But where the human was supposed to be, there was one of their own.

Giovanni chuckled again, but the sound was cut off by a grunt of impatience. Or maybe confusion? Yes. This would normally be the part where Ash held his head in pain as the Banettes invaded his mind. But he sat still. It had to be putting Gioavnni on edge.

At last, Ash lifted his head. He knew Giovanni probably couldn't see too well in the low-light, but he could feel his red eyes glowing with heat. Giovanni's own eyes widened in terror and shock.

"No," he said. It almost sounded calm at first. Then his rage built and he started yelling, "No, no, no, no!"

Ash stood up and pointed his fellow ghost Pokémon in Giovanni's direction. "You're not controlling me anymore!" he told his father. Then to the Pokémon, he added, "You want a human mind to attack? Well, there one is!"

A cold chill blew across his shoulders, Banettes and Shuppets alike rushing past in a fog. Giovanni cowered on the floor, begging for Ash to spare him. As the ghost Pokémon began to crowd around him like a building storm, a part of Ash was tempted to let the attack continue. Maybe they could affect Giovanni's mind just like they had affected Ash's. Maybe they could take away all his desires to do such terrible things to people and Pokémon. Or maybe...

 _Or maybe letting these Pokémon hurt Giovanni doesn't make me any better than him._ Ash raised his hand again, urging the Pokémon to come back to him. They weren't happy about it. But they still came. A few of the smaller Shuppets even rubbed their heads under his chin. Ash smiled.

"You did good," he said. "I don't think he'll be bothering me again."

The smell of fear and sweat was heavy in the room, even though the former wasn't a smell Ash could normally pinpoint. Just a feeling he had. Like something the Pokémon part of him just sort of knew. He stood up and walked over to Giovanni, who was now grasping his head and whimpering in the opposite corner of the room.

"Your methods won't work on me anymore," Ash declared. "If you want to win me over to your side, you've got to do it fairly. No more tricks. Agreed?"

Giovanni didn't look up. But he did nod. And gave another small whimper. That was as close to an agreement as Ash could probably expect to get.

#

Sabrina had been sleeping for a while. When her Pokéball opened and the red light finally released her, it felt about the same as someone pulling the covers out from under her and dumping her on the floor at five in the morning. Not that anyone who dare to do such a thing to someone who could telekinetically hurl them across the room.

She kept her eyes closed and felt herself floating down to touch ground on a rough wood floor. Her senses were magnified. She could _smell_ the place. Her telepathic powers tuned into the auras of the room, like listening to music. Her body had changed. In her mind, she saw an image of herself. Green, white, and a splash of red. Her stick-like arms ended with three fingers, not five. From a distance, there was no distinguishing her from Gardevoir. Only her face remained her own. Still her normal skin tone. Still human. She felt no loss from this fact. In fact, any human concerns felt trivial to her now.

She listened to the sounds of the room. Voices. Right nearby. One voice was Gladion's. And there was another a gruff, older voice. She slowly allowed her eyes to open. Her vision began to adjust and she saw him standing next to a man wearing obnoxious yellow sunglasses atop a mop of wild white hair. Getting a better look at his face, he wasn't as old as Sabrina first thought, despite the dark circles under his eyes. He might have been only a year or so older than her.

"Man, you weren't kidding," the man said, then he circled around Sabrina getting a better look at her. _Guzma,_ Sabrina remembered. _His name is Guzma._ She had seen pictures of the Team Skull boss before, and thought him more ridiculous-looking than actually threatening. But he had given Gladion work and shelter for a time. And from the way he had duct-taped a large X over his team's logo, she suspected he wasn't as into the petty crime scene as he once was. Still, just to be sure...

 _Let's see how well my new powers work._ She focused and sensed no dark intentions from him as she did from Giovanni. He was ambitious but wouldn't abuse her or others for his goals. She was safe here.

Guzma shook his head, apparently barely noticing her presence in his mind. He turned to Gladion. "You can hang here for a bit if you need, but if trouble comes knocking, I never saw you," he muttered. "Me and Plum are starting over here, and I don't need any of that Kanto drama."

"I understand," Gladion said. "We appreciate it."

Sabrina tuned out their conversation and looked around the building. The place was old and crumbling. The rain pounded outside and from the way it shook the windowpanes, she was shocked the place wasn't flooded. It also smelled faintly of mold and week-old pizza.

But... it wasn't Giovanni's gym. As unsavory as this place was, it _was_ safe. And for now, she was satisfied with that. She curiously held out a green hand and focused on the heaviest thing she could find, which happened to be a beaten and battered sofa. At her thought, it lifted with almost no effort. She smiled. The loss of her humanity had been a small price to pay. And when she was ready, she would get Giovanni back for trying to capture her. But for now, the best she could do was wait and rest.

#

Ash sat outside, watching the last rays of sun dip below the horizon. Beside him, Misty lay on her stomach, flicking the end of her tail this way and that and probably enjoying the wet grass way more than he was. It had been raining all day, but the clouds had finally parted, even as day was about to give way to night. Brock, not so anxious to get himself wet, relaxed on the steps leading up to the Viridian Gym. Somewhere, in a clump of damp clover, Pika-Raichu was napping. The scene felt familiar and foreign to Ash at the same time.

"You did really well today, you know?" Misty said to him.

He nodded. He still felt like if he had really done everything right, he wouldn't have gotten his friends into this situation in the first place.

As if reading this thoughts, Brock added on, "You had no idea what Giovanni was planning. Everything you've done, you've done it to protect us. And Pokémon."

"Right," Misty said. "And if you think we're going to leave your side now, you're even stupider than your dad."

Ash laughed a bit. It was true-he didn't know what the future had in store. But whatever it was, however he and his friends had changed, they would face the challenge together.

The end.


	25. Bonus: New Year's in Po Town

_A/N: We've been floating around this idea for a holiday-themed one shot and finally decided to post it. Just to be clear: this is_ not _the start of a new story. We just wanted to explore what some of the characters might be doing in the aftermath of the previous chapters. We'd love to write more, but real life isn't making that realistic right now. We hope you enjoy this for what it is and a Happy New Year to all!_

#

"I'm not drinking that," Plumeria said firmly, glaring at the bottle in Guzma's hands like it had beaten her in battle or something.

Guzma narrowed his eyes. He hadn't gone for the cheap stuff. This was a bottle of decent-end Roseli wine. Did she think those things just grew on trees?

Okay, technically, the berries grew on trees, but that was beside the point. "I didn't steal it," he blurted out.

"Not saying you did," Plumeria replied, hands on her hips. "Only said I'm not drinking tonight."

That made absolutely no sense to Guzma, but before he had the chance to question her, a sharp knock caught his attention. He hurried out of the mansion's broken down kitchen (nearly slipping on a loose floor tile), and reached for the front door. Plumeria came up behind him, much more slowly and carefully than she usually did.

Through the broken front window, Guzma got a clear view of the outside, even before he actually opened the door. The mansion's front lawn was as battered and sad-looking as it always was, but seeing the entirety of Team Skull lined up on it cheered the place like nothing else could. Guzma had hardly turned the door's handle when air was filled with the off-key chorus of several dozen grunts bursting into song at once:

"We wish you a merry day, yo!"

"We wish you a merry day, yo!"

"We wish you a merry day, yo!"

"And a happy Popplio!"

They all looked very pleased with themselves, though one of the pink-haired grunts crossed her arms and gave a small huff. "I still don't like that last line. What if the trainers we're singing to didn't pick Popplio, huh? What if they picked Rowlet?"

"No one picks Rowlet!" the girl beside her snapped.

"I picked Rowlet!" yelled a random guy in the back. Someone booed him. Someone else booed that guy, and were it not for Guzma's quick thinking and frantic hand-waving to call them back to attention, there very well might have been a brawl right in the front yard.

"All right, you sorry lot, listen up!" he snapped, taking a step forward into the chilly evening air. "Team Skull is famous throughout Alola for our catchy rhymes and perfect footwork! Your task is to make sure there ain't a trainer standing who hasn't heard this tune by tomorrow night! You all get me?"

The grunts stood at attention and gave the Team Skull pose in an oddly synchronized fashion. "Yes, Master Guzma!"

Guzma nodded his approval. No doubt about it. This team could carol. They could carol and carol and never let up. Even though he had ceased all Team Skull's illegal activities (well, most of them, anyhow), they were still a crew. No, more than that-a family. You didn't disband a family. It was just that instead of beating down trainers with Pokémon attacks, they blew people's minds with their awesome dance moves. Alola would be the most boring place on the planet if Team Skull ever truly broke apart. That was just a fact. Plus, New Year's Day was a perfect time to crank up their volume to eleven. Apparently, during the holiday season, people actually expected you to go door-to-door sharing your musical talents (or lack thereof). Go figure.

At Guzma's signal, the group turned and started to hike down the road leading out of Po Town. Then, in the front row, a blue-haired grunt gave a mighty sneeze, prompting a loud, "Bless you!" from one of his peers in the back. Guzma shuddered. It was more than chilly out here. It was unseasonably cool, and his gang still stood out there in their white shorts and Skull tanks, their bony arms and legs fully exposed to the cold. All enthusiasm and no common sense. Yeah, that was Team Skull, all right.

"Hey, carry some blankets with you or something," he said. "You're gonna freeze out there."

The grunt with the head cold looked horrified. "And cover up our Team Skull gear? We'd never do that, Master Guzma!" His teammates muttered their agreement as they walked on behind him.

Guzma rolled his eyes. "Drop the 'Master Guzma' stuff already. You're my team, not my Pokémon trainees."

"You absolutely said that, Master Guzma, and we will totally listen to it someday, Master Guzma," the grunt said. He gave one final pose and followed the others out, his feet moving rhythmically with the tone he still hummed to himself.

Guzma closed the door, sealing the warm air inside once again, for as much as the drafty mansion could seal in anything. He tried not to smile (it was a nasty habit that made him look way too soft), but he couldn't help it. His crew's festive spirit was infectious. He walked past Plumeria and back to the kitchen, thinking he'd help himself to a generous glass of that wine now.

Then he remembered Plumeria was still being a stick in the mud for some dumb reason.

He paused in the kitchen's entrance. Sabrina was somewhere around. She'd been doing nothing but practice her tele-kinesthetics or whatever she called it lately. Thankfully, kitchen appliances were too easy for her and she mostly kept her magic floaty antics focused on large pieces of rubble outside.

Guzma stood beside the three-legged coffee table where he'd placed the wine. The bottle still sat there unopened. He eyed it thoughtfully, trying to decide how much Plumeria would harass him for drinking straight out of it. Then you should have had some, he'd tell her. Yeah, that would go over well.

He stepped forward and picked up the bottle, mentally debating if it was worth picking a fight over when she came up and gently put a hand on his wrist.

Plumeria never did anything gently, and the sensation unnerved him. "Uh... you feeling okay, there?" he asked.

She gave him a knowing smirk-a look that could have had a kahuna bowing in apology and not having a clue why. Dang, he loved this woman.

"Come on," she said. "Let's watch the crew leave." She motioned him back towards the front window. He shrugged and followed. The lower right pane was the busted one, and when Guzma leaned down enough, he could see his foggy breath escaping around the spikes of glass. Then the sky changed. The thing with living in Po Town was that you could almost always count on it raining outside. Or at least, looking like it was about to rain. How the place wasn't flooded half the time was beyond him. But then there were nights like tonight... nights when the temperature dipped down. And then, even though every other town in Alola had the deceptively-warm-looking moon hanging over it in full, Po Town got the luxury of snow. Guzma watched the flurries drift down in calm silence, even as his crew's songs echoed down the streets.

"Sorry for turning down the wine," Plumeria said. "I'll take a glass in nine months."

Guzma nodded absently, about to lie and say she'd never really hurt his feelings or anything stupid like that. Then he stared at her, playing her words over in his head.

"You'll take... in wha- Plum, are you-?"

She leaned forward and kissed him, cutting off his words. "Happy New Year, Guzma," she said. "Now fixed that blasted window."

To say Guzma was stunned would imply that he had to capacity to fully process and comprehend what Plumeria had just shared with him. He did not. Words like "father" and "baby" and "family" clunked around in his mind, but every time his brain tried to hold onto their meaning, it sputtered out. The concepts were so life-changingly explosive, it was like he was afraid to touch them.

Then a voice spoke. "Oh, well, now. Isn't this just adorable?"

Guzma whirled around. A powerful-looking woman with strange black and white hair stood in the shadows between their kitchen and dining room. The kitchen window was open (Guzma hadn't remembered doing that), and he hadn't heard a sound, either. None of the bug Pokémon in the house had alerted him to her presence. She had snuck in like the darkness itself.

Guzma was never a fan of sneaking. Or darkness, for that matter. If you were going to cause someone pain, you did it up close and in their face. Like a gentleman. Or something.

Guzma's hand flew to his hip. "Don't know who you think you are, but you're gonna regret busting in here. Golisopod, First Impression!"

"Salazzle, Toxic!" called Plumeria's voice from behind him.

The intruder didn't look at all concerned by this development. If anything, she smirked like their attempts to cause harm amused her. As acid fired across the room and Golisopod's signature move lit up like a firecracker, Guzma watched the already worn kitchen countertop more or less disintegrate. When the dust cleared, the intruder was gone.

"Dang, that bug is fast," her voice cooed from behind Guzma. "I had to really put some effort into that last dodge. Well done."

Guzma gritted his teeth and whirled around. Now that she stood fully in the light, he quickly realized this woman wasn't human. Not fully, at any rate. Her eyes shimmered with a red glow, and when she held up her hand, her fingers were clawed.

"Y-you're a hybrid?" Plumeria asked as her Pokémon slithered around and stood protectively in front of her.

The woman cocked her head to the side. "Interesting. You don't seem as shocked as I'd expect."

At that moment, a gust of wind blew through the room. Again, without Guzma being able to tell how or when she had entered, a woman suddenly stood in their kitchen, eyes glowing red with power. But at least this time, he knew the intruder was on his side.

"Careful," Sabrina warned, putting an arm protectively in front of both him and Plumeria. "She's powerful. Merged with Absol."

The black-and-white haired lady narrowed her eyes. "Sabrina," she spat, "So this is where you ran off to."

Sabrina didn't throw her backwards. Guzma wondered if she could, Absol being a dark type and all. But Absol Lady didn't look eager to experiment, either. Instead, she put up her hands in surrender. "If you're worried about me squealing to Giovanni, don't. You did me a huge favor, helping with my powers and all. And besides, I'm off Team Rocket now. Giovanni's way more interested in training his precious son than listening to me." There was a bitter venom in her last words. Guzma instinctively took a few steps back. He eyed the window, debating if shoving Plum through it and scrambling after her was a valid exit strategy.

"His son?" Sabrina cocked her head. "You mean Silver?"

Absol Lady barked out a forced laugh. "I wish. No, some pest named Ash. Boss didn't even know he existed until-" She tightened her clawed hands into fists and shook her head, cutting off her own explanation. Then her fiery gaze darted past Sabrina and landed on Guzma. Sabrina didn't interject. Her eyes had widened at the name "Ash," and she now seemed transfixed, staring at nothing and muttering to herself.

"You," Absol Lady said, pointing at Guzma. "Let's cut to the chase. My name is Fiora Bloodstone Sycamore. You've got something I want, and I'll bargain to get it."

Guzma stiffened. He couldn't let this woman scare him. And if she did, his body just had to act like she didn't. He had someone to protect now. Someone to help Plum protect. A father... no, that word still felt too weird to him... a man didn't run scared when his family was in danger.

"What kind of a bargain?" Plumeria demanded.

Fiora Bloodbone...whatever her name was...shrugged. "Nothing complicated. See, I was pretty high in Team Rocket before we parted over our... creative differences. Bottom line, I need some new subordinates. You two lovebirds are all ready to start a family anyhow, right? So just retire from this gig. Pass Team Skull onto me. I'll set you up with a nice little place and you two can get on with your lives like a normal couple."

Guzma stared at her. Two bits of hard-to-process news in one day. "You asking me to just sell Team Skull to you? That it?" he snarled.

"Pretty much, yeah."

Sabrina seemed to snap out of her trance and again moved between Fiora and Guzma. "It's an interesting offer," she allowed. "You will give us time to consider it." Her words were a command, not a suggestion. Her voice dropped low as she added on, "Ash Ketchum... is Giovanni's son?"

"Yeah. You know him?" Fiora said. From the sound of it, "knowing" this kid was a personal insult she felt free to knock some teeth out for.

Sabrina kept her tone calm and even. "He helped me... once. Not unlike the way I helped you."

Fiora scoffed. "He's an idiot," she said. "But if you care about him for some nutso reason, you'll warn him to stay out of my way." She nodded at Guzma. "We'll talk when you're ready, then." With a graceful leap, she jumped past Sabrina and up onto the windowsill like some freakish human-shaped Torracat. "Congrats, by the way," she said as she vanished into the night. "And a Happy New Year."

#

 _End of bonus story. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful 2019!_


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